Recent content by Sven Tingblad

Look, even if we were all computer programs, we still exist. You can get into a debate on our essence (are we programs? people? both? neither?), but it seems to me that whatever has an underlying essence exists. The whole "I think therefore I am" line could work if thinking implies an essence...

Maybe some types of analysis come later; but functional analysis, which I am taking, seems to perfectly fit between Algebra II and Calculus. So far it's just been crudely drawing functions with their asymptotes, graphing logarithms and exponents, and trigonometry. Nothing too fancy, and...

Thank you all for the replies and suggestions. I have almost finished Calculus and Pizza, and I must say that it is an awesome book. I have no idea how good it is compared to any other calculus texts, but I highly recommend it. One caveat, though: do not buy this book if you want nothing but...

Well, it would be kinda stupid, but: Swim to the boats, and they will shoot you. You will float away and then be "off the island," just like the riddle asks.

I am currently reading Clifford Pickover's book Calculus and Pizza. I'm taking analysis right now, but I just want to get a head start on calculus. Does anyone know how much of a standard calculus course this book covers? And what other good, easy-to-read calculus books are there?

I think pi has every finite number combination. It has only one infinitely long string of numbers: itself.

Nashan and Imparticle, y'all are close to what I meant. Everything that exists falls into one of three mutually exclusive catergories: 1. We can sense it, and we do sense it 2. We can sense it, but we don't sense it 3. We can't sense it, so we don't sense it Everything that we sense...

Sorry if it is hard to follow; I've never been good at putting ideas into words. My first post is basically intended to be an answer to the question in the movie. After all, they never answered it in the movie and it is an interesting question. In the first paragraph I try to define existence...

Alright, if any of you have seen The Matrix, then you have heard Morpheous's question to Neo concerning reality. In the matrix, Neo and Morpheous see a red chair and a television. Neo says that none of it is real, based on the logic that it is all of a computer program. Morpheous responds by...

Although I'm one of the better math students in my class, I know exactly what you are talking about when it comes to physical science. I couldn't handle the hybrid nature of the class, i.e., much information is explained, but much is still supposed to be taken as truth without any explanation...

Thanks for clearing that up. I knew something had to be wrong with it, or it would have been discovered centuries ago. I guess nothing is as simple as it seems.

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, it certainly seems like someone must have have thought of it before. Anyway, here it is: is -1 a prime number? After all, primes are divisible only by the number 1 and by themselves. -1 is divisible only by 1 and itself. Is it therefore the smallest...

It just came to me! They must have been sent back in time using the inter-dimensional gateway from the Planet of the Apes. Director Tim Burton somehow got wind of this perilous plot and re-made the movie Planet of the Apes to show apes coming back in time in order to warn us. Strangely, even...

OK, first I'll take the "pure" scenario, i.e. the random number generator generating a specific number. If the generator can generate any number at all, and you want it to generate a specific number given infinite time, it almost certainly won't happen. You see, it can generate an infinite...

From what I understand, parallel universes do not give a darn about probability and obey only possibility. It's true that it's not very probable that I will suddenly jump up after not jumping up 10 times, but it is very possible that I might change my mind the eleventh time. But consider the...