Can You Solve This Hilarious Limit Problem Involving Sine and Infinity?

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Discussion Overview

The thread revolves around humorous mathematical problems and jokes, particularly focusing on limits, integrals, and playful wordplay related to mathematics. Participants share various jokes, puns, and light-hearted mathematical expressions, creating a playful atmosphere around mathematical concepts.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents a limit problem involving sine and infinity, suggesting it as a joke that may not be understood by all.
  • Several participants express confusion about the joke, indicating varying levels of mathematical understanding.
  • Multiple jokes and humorous mathematical expressions are shared, including puns related to integrals and playful interpretations of mathematical terms.
  • Participants discuss a specific integral joke involving "cabin" and "houseboat," with some expressing uncertainty about its humor.
  • One participant shares a limerick that combines calculus with humor, while others contribute additional jokes and humorous anecdotes related to mathematics.
  • There are references to famous mathematicians and their quotes, adding a historical and meta-humorous layer to the discussion.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally share a light-hearted approach to mathematics, but there is no consensus on the understanding or humor of specific jokes. Some participants find certain jokes amusing while others do not, indicating a mix of agreement and disagreement on the humor presented.

Contextual Notes

Some jokes rely on specific mathematical knowledge or cultural references that may not be universally understood, leading to varying interpretations among participants.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those who enjoy mathematical humor, including students and educators in mathematics, as well as individuals looking for light-hearted content related to math and its concepts.

  • #121
Number Lover said:
I remember hearing a story on another forum at one point where a high school math club of some sort made t-shirts which imitated the anti-drug commercials. Here's the design: http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/6195/integrals9tr6uo.jpg

I found it extremely funny the first time I saw it. :)

That's a nice one.

For everyone else, keep the jokes coming. :rolleyes:
 
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  • #122
The experimental evidence I keep banging on about is in the form of computer programs apparently written by many in this forum. One of the major advances that Newton made in science, in my opinion, is that he was a pioneer of the system of looking at experimental results, and THEN making arguments, laws, equations, to fit the theory, not the other way round. You guys seem to think your argument would hold true if experiments told you otherwise. However it seems that experiment bears out your argument, and so it is the correct argument. That is the only reason I accept it over my old argument, which to me seems as logical and reasonable as the argument I now believe in.
 
  • #123
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/4050/unfindxlol12fb.png
 
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  • #124
Angles and Angels

Not exactly a joke...but happened often when I was in grade 3 when we were introduced to a bit "advanced" geometry like points, segments, angles etc.

A common typo made by students is instead of writing "Angle ABC" they write "Angel ABC".
 
  • #125
Another limerick:

Pi goes on and on and on ...
And e is just as cursed.
I wonder: Which is larger
When their digits are reversed?
 
  • #126
That's not a limerick.
 
  • #127
Descartes walks into a bar.

The waitress says, "can I get you something?"

Descartes says, "I think not," and promptly disappears.
 
  • #128
Here's one that we actually saw in a pre-calculus class.

Upon learning that <br /> \lim_{x\rightarrow 8} <br /> \frac{1}{(x-8)^2}<br /> = \infty<br />

the class was asked to consider <br /> \lim_{x\rightarrow 3} <br /> \frac{1}{(x-3)^2}<br />.

One student raised his hand and said, "m".

Of course, I guess the answer could also be "\omega"
 
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  • #129
BSMSMSTMSPHD said:
Here's one that we actually saw in a pre-calculus class.

Upon learning that <br /> \lim_{x\rightarrow 8} <br /> \frac{1}{(x-8)^2}<br /> = \infty<br />

the class was asked to consider <br /> \lim_{x\rightarrow 3} <br /> \frac{1}{(x-3)^2}<br />.

One student raised his hand and said, "m".

Of course, I guess the answer could also be "\omega"

if it was intended to be an omega that's pretty clever..
 
  • #130
Originally Posted by rhj23
if it was intended to be an omega that's pretty clever..

Yeah - I never thought of that. The actual joke requires a sideways 5, but I didn't have enough imagination to create that symbol.
 
  • #131
http://www.maths.uwa.edu.au/~berwin/humour/invalid.proofs.html#TopPageAnchor
 
  • #132
Q: How do you make one burn?
A: Differentiate a log fire!
 
  • #133
These integrals are sweet!
\int dy
\int_{-C}^y dt

Q: What is a proof that is based on two prior results called?
A: A dilemma.


"Once I thought I was capable of making mistakes, but then I found out I was wrong."
 
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  • #134
Why are mathematicians convergent?
Because they are monotonic and bounded!
 
  • #135
Funny, I've always seen myself as just being Cauchy...
 
  • #136
I really like the following one which I got from SimonSingh.net. Not sure if its a "bad math joke" :)

Two mathematicians are in a bar. The first one
says to the second that the average person
knows very little about basic mathematics.
The second one disagrees, and claims that most
people can cope with a reasonable amount
of mathematics.

The first mathematician goes off to the washroom,
and in his absence the second calls over the waitress.
He tells her that in a few minutes, after his friend has
returned, he will call her over and ask her a question.
All she has to do is answer "one third x cubed."

She repeats "one thir -- dex cue"?

He repeats, "one third x cubed".

She asks, "one thir dex cubed?"

"Yes, that's right," he says.

So she agrees, and goes off mumbling to herself,
"one thir dex cubed...".

The first guy returns and the second proposes a bet
to prove his point, that most people do know something
about basic mathematics. He says he will ask the blonde waitress
an integral, and the first laughingly agrees. The second man
calls over the waitress and asks "what is the integral of x squared?".

The waitress says "one third x cubed" and whilst walking away,
turns back and says over her shoulder "plus a constant!"
 
  • #137
What's the square root of 69?

8-something.
 
  • #138
tony873004 said:
What's the square root of 69?

8-something.

That's so wrong! :smile:
 
  • #139
That's terrible.

Conversation Starter #176
One theme that comes up in many of my lectures is "The Fourth Dimension: It's not just 'time' anymore." To illustrate, I tell the story of the herb distributor who wanted to use a vector space to keep track of orders. There would be one coordinate for parsley, one for sage, one for rosemary, and one for oregano--because the fourth dimenstion isn't just thyme anymore. The reaction of the class? Well, let's just say their groans give my story yet another dimension.
-Tom Banchoff, Brown University
(From 777 Mathematical Conversation Starters)

Keep 'em coming :biggrin:
 
  • #140
-What,s purple and Commutative?----> An Abelian Grape

-What,s the contour integral over all Western Europe?---> 0 because all the "Poles" live in Eastern Europe.
 
  • #141
Now here's one I really LOVE (especially the first few lines):
"At New York's Kennedy airport today, an individual later discovered to be a public school teacher was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a setsquare, a slide rule, and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, Attorney General John Ashcroft said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

"Al-Gebra is a fearsome cult," Ashcroft said. "They desire average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns,' but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country.

"As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, there are three sides to every triangle," Ashcroft declared.

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes.

"I am gratified that our government has given us a sine that it is intent on protracting us from these math-dogs who are willing to disintegrate us with calculus disregard. Murky statisticians love to inflict plane on every sphere of influence," the President said, adding, "Under the circumferences, we must differentiate their root, make our point, and draw the line."

President Bush warned, "These weapons of math instruction have the potential to decimal everything in their math on a scalene never before seen unless we become exponents of a Higher Power and begin to factor-in random facts of vertex."

Attorney General Ashcroft concluded, "As our Great Leader would say, 'read my ellipse.' Here is one principle he is uncertainty of though they continue to multiply, their days are numbered as the hypotenuse tightens around their necks."
 
  • #142
This one's good, too:
Halfway through a recent airplane flight from Warsaw to New York, there was nearly a major disaster when the flight crew got sick from eating the fish. After they had passed out, one of the flight attendants asked over the intercom if there were any pilots in the cabin.

An elderly gentleman, who had flown a bit in the war, raised his hand and was rushed into the cockpit of the 747. When he got there, took the seat, and saw all the displays and controls, he realized he was in over his head. He told the flight attendant that he didn't think he could fly this plane. When asked why not, he replied,

"I am just a simple Pole in a complex plane"

So, they just had to rely on the method of steepest descents.
 
  • #143
Help Pls for Ansys

Hi
I am a new ANSYS user and trying to work with Concrete65
Can anybody help me giving some guidelines how to deal this element...
thanks in advance...
 
  • #144
tony873004 said:
What's the square root of 69?

8-something.
i didn't get it.
 
  • #145
When my physics professor makes a simple math error he likes to comment, "There are three kinds of physicists, those that can count and those that can't."
 
  • #146
tony873004 said:
What's the square root of 69?

1 + 1 + offspring
 
  • #147
SigmaTheAtheist said:
When my physics professor makes a simple math error he likes to comment, "There are three kinds of physicists, those that can count and those that can't."

Reminiscent of the ever-popular "There are 10 types of people: Those who understand binary, and everyone else."
 
  • #148
There are 10 types of people: Those who know trinary, those who don't, and those who think I just screwed up a binary joke
 
  • #149
Office_Shredder said:
There are 10 types of people: Those who know trinary, those who don't, and those who think I just screwed up a binary joke
lol. great joke.
but, is the term "trinary"? or "ternary"?
 
  • #150
A bunch of Systems Engineers from Warsaw were flying out to attend a conference on “Automatic Control System’s” in Geneva. The weather conditions were perfect, no wind and blue sky with just a few light fluffy clouds. So once the plane reached cruising altitude the flight crew switched over to auto-pilot and settled in for a nice easy flight.

After some time one of the Engineers noticed a really strange cloud formation (resembling part of a women’s anatomy) off to the right hand side of the plane. He immediately alerted the others of this amazing curiosity and soon all the Engineers from both rows of seats had rushed over the take a look.

The sudden shift in weight caused the plane to pitch alarmingly to the right. The auto-pilot tried to correct but unfortunately it over-responded causing the plane to pitch ever more violently to the left. After several more failed over corrections the plane eventually spiralled out of control and crashed killing all on board.

Air-crash investigators examining the black box flight recorder eventually determined that the crash resulted from: “an instability in the auto-pilot system caused by” ...….punch line …... “ too many Poles in the right half plane”.
 
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