Nowhere differentiable, continuous

In summary, the conversation is about proving that a function f with a decimal expansion is nowhere differentiable but continuous. This is done by showing that the limit of the difference quotient does not exist, which can be done by choosing two different sequences with different limits. The speaker mentions successfully choosing two such sequences, but acknowledges that there may be mistakes in their work.
  • #1
astronut24
10
0
Hello
need help with this one.

f:[0,1] --> [0,1]

f( .x1 x2 x3 x4 x5 ...) = .x1 x3 x5 x7

( decimal expansion)

prove that f is nowhere diffrentiable but continuous.
i tried by just picking a point a in [0,1] and the basic definiton of differentiability about that point...doesnt seem to work! kindly help.
 
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  • #2
Let x be fixed. You have to show that the limit

[tex]
\lim_{y\to x} \frac{f(y)-f(x)}{y-x}
[/tex]

does not exist. One way to show this is to choose two different sequences [tex]y_n\to x[/tex] for which the limit

[tex]
\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{f(y_n)-f(x)}{y_n-x}
[/tex]

is different. I think I succeeded in choosing two sequences so that one gave 0 as the limit, and other one 1 as the limit, but naturally I'm not throwing all the details here :wink:
 
  • #3
Gladly I didn't show all the details, because my sequence that gave 1 as the limit, had mistakes in it.

EDIT: I think I got it dealed with. I'll return to the topic if the discussion goes to the details.
 
Last edited:

1. What does it mean for a function to be "nowhere differentiable"?

A function is considered "nowhere differentiable" if it does not have a derivative at any point in its domain. This means that the function is not smooth and does not have a well-defined slope at any point.

2. How is being "nowhere differentiable" different from being discontinuous?

Being "nowhere differentiable" means that the function does not have a derivative at any point, while being discontinuous means that there are points where the function is undefined or has a jump in its values. A function can be continuous but not differentiable, but it cannot be differentiable without being continuous.

3. Can a function be both "nowhere differentiable" and continuous?

Yes, a function can be both "nowhere differentiable" and continuous. This means that the function is continuous at every point in its domain, but it does not have a well-defined derivative at any point.

4. Why are "nowhere differentiable" functions important in mathematics?

"Nowhere differentiable" functions are important in mathematics because they challenge our understanding of smoothness and continuity. They also have practical applications in areas such as fractal geometry and signal processing.

5. Is there a way to determine if a function is "nowhere differentiable"?

Yes, there are several ways to determine if a function is "nowhere differentiable". One way is to check if the function satisfies the Cauchy-Riemann equations, which are necessary conditions for differentiability. Another way is to use the concept of Hausdorff dimension, which measures the amount of "wiggliness" in a function's graph.

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