Has anyone else developed a hate for cosine?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nikitin
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Cosine
Click For Summary
The discussion centers around frustrations with the cosine function, particularly its sign changes during differentiation and integration, which some participants find annoying compared to sine. There is a humorous exchange about the perceived complexity of trigonometric functions, with some users expressing a preference for sine over cosine. The conversation also touches on the challenges of remembering the definitions of secant and cosecant, with various jokes and anecdotes shared. Ultimately, the thread highlights a lighthearted yet relatable struggle with mathematical concepts, particularly in calculus. The playful tone suggests that while cosine may be frustrating, it also inspires camaraderie among those grappling with similar challenges.

Do you hate cos(x)?

  • yes

    Votes: 7 17.9%
  • no

    Votes: 33 84.6%
  • I hate sin(x) more

    Votes: 3 7.7%

  • Total voters
    39
  • #31
lisab said:
a little phase change

Haha. I get the phase constant joke.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #32
I like even functions better than odd ones, so cosine gets the nod. It's a pity that the co- prefix makes it sound like a second-class citizen.
 
  • #33
I think Curious3141 may have already hinted at this, but...

If you don't like the negative sign, you can always embrace the hyperbolic sine and hyperbolic cosine.

\frac{d}{dx}\sinh (x) = \cosh (x)
\frac{d}{dx}\cosh (x) = \sinh (x)
No negative signs there.

Plus, hyperbolic functions come up naturally (a lot) when modeling uniform acceleration* in special relativity.
*(Edit: uniform, proper acceleration, that is.)
 
  • #34
I just noticed the similarity between the phrases hate cosine and haute cuisine. That can't possibly be a coincidence. Especially with ##\pi## involved.
 
  • #35
jbunniii said:
I just noticed the similarity between the phrases hate cosine and haute cuisine. That can't possibly be a coincidence. Especially with ##\pi## involved.

+1! :smile:
 
  • #36
Nikitin said:
Has anyone else developed a hate for cosine?

Cosine ruined my life. When I was in high school, a friend introduced me to cosine. Until that point, all I knew was sine. Sometimes I would solve a tangent at a party, but only if I knew I had a ride home. Cosine was especially troublesome for me... it looked so much like sine that my family and friends never knew the difference.

Once I hit college, and I had a lot of freedom, I started investing more time in cosine. It started harmlessly enough by cutting into my social time, but slowly I became a recluse. Then my school work faltered and I was put on academic probation. I joined a support group during that time, but it only introduced me to more people with the same addiction. We would sit there in meetings and fantasize about cosine in polar coordinates or solving it in higher dimensions. Me and two other guys dropped out of the support group and would spend every night on Wolfram Alpha graphing cosine function after cosine function.

I didn't answer phone calls from family or friends, and I was quickly kicked out of school. I lived on the street for a few months that summer, too ashamed to confront my family. I would scrounge for scraps of pizza in the garbage and would draw the cosine function with the sauce. I lived like that with $cos(π/2) in my pocket.

Finally, I dragged myself back to my family when drawing cos(x) in the sand at elementary school parks landed me in jail several times. They were so happy to see me, but that feeling quickly faded when my addiction started to affect them too. I started drawing cosine on the bathroom mirror in soap which forced my family to experience it when they got out of the shower. They tolerated until my 15 year old brother (who we all suspected partook of sine with his skater friends) got caught at school adding (π/2) to his sine argument in the parking lot during study hall.

I knew I had gone too far. But so did my parents.

They kicked me out of the house and I checked into a mental hospital. With the help of professionals and some hyperbolic trig functions I was able to ween myself off of cosine after about a year, but my family still won't talk to me. It's been four years since I've talked to my parents.

All because of cosine.

Do I hate it? Yes. And it made me hate myself.
 
  • #37
I don't hate cos(x) but I despise all log(x)s that are not ln(x). What kind of sick mind thought those things are a good idea?
 
  • #38
Why did you enable multiple answers for this type of question? :confused:
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 69 ·
3
Replies
69
Views
6K
Replies
21
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
3K
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
7K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
4K
  • · Replies 32 ·
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
769
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
2K