If maths was a food, which food would it be?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the metaphorical comparison of mathematics to various foods, exploring the characteristics and qualities of both. Participants share their thoughts on how different foods represent mathematical concepts, engaging in a light-hearted and creative exchange.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose pizza as a representation of math due to its divisibility into fractions and halves.
  • Others suggest the concept of Pi, linking it to circular geometry and food metaphors.
  • One participant mentions "2 PI R" as a better representation, indicating a focus on circumference.
  • Rabbits and spirals are brought up in relation to Fibonacci, highlighting connections between nature and mathematics.
  • Butter is suggested as a food that can yield beautiful results in skilled hands, paralleling the mastery of mathematics.
  • Grapefruit is mentioned, though its connection to math is unclear to some participants.
  • Jalapeno peppers are noted for their ability to evoke strong reactions, similar to the challenges of math.
  • Plain loaf and rice are described as basic yet essential foods, representing foundational aspects of mathematics.
  • One participant shares a humorous anecdote about cakes at a wedding, linking it to mathematical concepts like infinite divisibility.
  • Banach-Tarski cake is introduced as a concept where a cake can be divided and reassembled into two identical cakes, illustrating paradoxical mathematical ideas.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of opinions on which food best represents mathematics, with no clear consensus emerging. Multiple competing views remain throughout the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some contributions rely on personal experiences and cultural backgrounds, which may influence the interpretations of the food-math analogy.

Antuntun
I think it would be a pizza because you can divide it into fractions and halfs and is interesting and different as maths is.
 
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Antuntun said:
I think it would be a pizza because you can divide it into fractions and halfs and is interesting and different as maths is.

Pi!
 
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But 2 PI R better!
 
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I prefer rabbits and spirals! (Fibonacci!)
 
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Also 2 PI R = C food.
 
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PI Z2 A
 
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Butter: In a master's hands, it can produce beautiful results. Amateurs can use it enhance their own products, but doing it wrong creates a soggy mess.
 
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  • #10
Greg Bernhardt said:
Grapefruit

:confused: Did I miss something here?
 
  • #11
StatGuy2000 said:
:confused: Did I miss something here?
haha I'm not great at math so I'm bitter
 
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  • #12
Jalapeno peppers!
 
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  • #13
I don't know what it would be, but I am certain it would taste just like chicken. :wink:
 
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  • #14
Fervent Freyja said:
Jalapeno peppers!
Yes. It brings tears to the eyes of many.
 
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  • #15
Plain loaf. It is basic and essential, but made with the right technique and good ingredients, it can be absolutely amazing without the need of extra flavouring
 
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  • #16
As I'm half-Asian, my answer would be rice. It is basic and essential, and can serve as a prime ingredient for a wide range of material (food for rice, research fields for math).
 
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  • #17
StatGuy2000 said:
As I'm half-Asian, my answer would be rice. It is basic and essential, and can serve as a prime ingredient for a wide range of material (food for rice, research fields for math).
This is very interesting :woot: I am full-Asian and the first thing came to my mind was a loaf of bread. Probably more to do with having lived most of my life in New Zealand though.
Fun fact: bread is popular but disgustingly expensive in China, I guess it's a matter of projection.
 
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  • #18
Antuntun said:
I think it would be a pizza because you can divide it into fractions and halfs and is interesting and different as maths is.
256bits said:
PI Z2 A

πz2a!
 
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  • #19
Ivan Samsonov said:
πz2a!
After the math teacher told the class that the area of a circle is πr2, the Kentucky mountain man said:

"Pie are not square! Pie are round! Cornbread are square!"Ref.
 
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  • #20
Walnuts, pecans - or something hard to crack open.
 
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  • #21
OCR said:
After the math teacher told the class that the area of a circle is πr2, the Kentucky mountain man said:

"Pie are not square! Pie are round! Cornbread are square!"
320px-Vegan_Meat_Pie_01_Pengo.jpg

Image credit: Peter Halasz
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
 
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  • #22
Oh come on! If Math was food there is only one real answer: Chocolate! Nothing so bitter could taste so sweet with just a little imagination.
 
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  • #23
Scalloped minced meat. Hard to digest, but incredibly tasty :biggrin:
 
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  • #24
Metmann said:
Scalloped minced meat. Hard to digest, but incredibly tasty :biggrin:

Wow. Nice one!
 
  • #25
upload_2017-10-29_10-32-21.png
 

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  • #26
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  • #27
I once went to a wedding where instead of one cake, there were exactly e cakes cut into pieces so that each piece was 1, 1, 1/2, 1/6, 1/24, and so on. A cake such as this possesses infinite surface area and is therefore infinitely delicious. The bride and groom were geniuses. All anyone had to do was take an infinitesimally small slice off the end and there were still e cakes leftover at the end of the wedding.
 
  • #28
Banach-Tarski cake. You cut the cake into pieces and then reassemble the pieces to get two cakes each identical to the original.
 

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