home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: sci.math
- Path: sparky!uunet!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!princeton!mace.Princeton.EDU!tao
- From: tao@mace.Princeton.EDU (Terry Tao)
- Subject: Re: Why Algebra...Important
- Message-ID: <1993Jan25.164019.19356@Princeton.EDU>
- Originator: news@nimaster
- Sender: news@Princeton.EDU (USENET News System)
- Nntp-Posting-Host: mace.princeton.edu
- Organization: Princeton University
- References: <7459@ucsbcsl.ucsb.edu> <1993Jan25.023340.4349@monu1.cc.monash.edu.au>
- Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 16:40:19 GMT
- Lines: 24
-
- In article <1993Jan25.023340.4349@monu1.cc.monash.edu.au> khchung@monu1.cc.monash.edu.au (Mr KH Chung) writes:
- >In article <7459@ucsbcsl.ucsb.edu>, unicef@epilogue.mcl.ucsb.edu (Joel Rising) writes:
- >> Math is a language, but a far more powerful one. To convince youself,
- >> write out some equation, and then try to describe all the relationships it
- >> embodies. It's not just "x=ky" but also "x is proportional to y" or "as x
- >> goes up one, y goes up by some factor k." Relate the variables to some
- >> real-world quantity, and the equation becomes even more rich with
- >> information. Perhaps a whole paragraph could be gleaned from "x=ky."
- >
- >On the other hand, how do you order a cup of coffee using only mathematical
- >notation?
- >:-)
-
- Claim: \exists Cup = {(x, y, z) = d((x, y), Cup_0) = r_cup, z_0 < z < z_0 +
- h_cup} \cup {(x, y, z_0): d((x, y), Cup_0) < r_cup}:d(Cup, me) < \epsilon_0 \and
- \exists Coffee = \{ f(x, y): d((x, y), Cup_0) < r_cup} s.t. Coffee \in \overbar
- {Cup} \and T_coffee > 90 F \and t > t_0 => Hap_me(t) > Hap_me(t_0).
-
- Corollary: f(x, y) \to 0 as t -> \infinity.
-
- :-)
-
- Terry
-
-