Mathilda
Queen
It's back 
All standard forum rules apply.
Let's have good questions and excellent answers.
All standard forum rules apply.
Let's have good questions and excellent answers.
The questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XII
- Thread starter Mathilda
- Start date
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Harvin87
The Youth
what happened to the last thread?
Huayna Capac357
Deity
How does Pandora make money?
madviking
north american scum
aimeeandbeatles
watermelon
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2007
- Messages
- 20,082
Why are the US and UK covers different?
Spoiler :
Mathilda
Queen
It drowned in spam, not a pretty sight.
Why are the US and UK covers different?
Spoiler :
Not uncommon to see this in different markets.
And really, that question should go on a Petty fan site.
PeteAtoms
FormulaRandom
I was pondering the infinite monkeys+typewriters theorem, and began to wonder about the number pi.
1) If you turn the digits in pi into binary (evens to 0's, odds to 1's), won't pi also contain all the works of Shakespeare?
2) What is "information?" Does it require someone to interpret it to be considered information? If the digits of pi (turned into binary) go on forever, does pi not contain all the information in the universe, and all information possible? Does this imply infinite information? As you can see, I obviously don't have a firm grasp on the concept of "information" vs. random "stuff," or what have you.
(This might have been worth its own thread...
)
1) If you turn the digits in pi into binary (evens to 0's, odds to 1's), won't pi also contain all the works of Shakespeare?
2) What is "information?" Does it require someone to interpret it to be considered information? If the digits of pi (turned into binary) go on forever, does pi not contain all the information in the universe, and all information possible? Does this imply infinite information? As you can see, I obviously don't have a firm grasp on the concept of "information" vs. random "stuff," or what have you.
(This might have been worth its own thread...
)
Tani Coyote
Son of Huehuecoyotl
- Joined
- May 28, 2007
- Messages
- 15,191
First off, a toast to our administration for finally reviving this!
---
Here's three I always wondered, and since there's no "Ask a Moderator" topic:
1. Are birthday threads archived?
2. I notice there are three different types of mod titles(not including staff and such) - junior, normal mod, and senior mod. I assume there are different abilities/privileges each one has? What would they be?
3. What, apart from being a series thread, makes a topic deemed suitable for being archived? I imagine it not being any real discussion.
---
Here's three I always wondered, and since there's no "Ask a Moderator" topic:
1. Are birthday threads archived?
2. I notice there are three different types of mod titles(not including staff and such) - junior, normal mod, and senior mod. I assume there are different abilities/privileges each one has? What would they be?
3. What, apart from being a series thread, makes a topic deemed suitable for being archived? I imagine it not being any real discussion.
Zack
99% hot gas
Well, the FAQ thread, linked above, sorta kinda is.
I debated starting an "Ask a Moderator" thread, but we decided there would be too much PDMA in it.
I don't think so. They just die off and go to the bottom of the list.
Junior mod is designed to 'break in' the moderator. Teach them how to moderate their areas. They are promoted to Moderator at or about six months. This gives them global powers, but they really shouldn't use them unless necessary. Mostly the global powers are used to ban spambots. Normal Moderators are promoted to Senior Moderator at or about two years of service, and have global powers. Basically a Sr. Mod can moderate any subforum they have access to, and have it 'count'. Generally we back up a moderator that has stepped outside of the subforum, but if they were to do it too much something would probably be said to them privately about it. I have not seen this happen.
I was pondering the infinite monkeys+typewriters theorem, and began to wonder about the number pi.
1) If you turn the digits in pi into binary (evens to 0's, odds to 1's), won't pi also contain all the works of Shakespeare?
2) What is "information?" Does it require someone to interpret it to be considered information? If the digits of pi (turned into binary) go on forever, does pi not contain all the information in the universe, and all information possible? Does this imply infinite information? As you can see, I obviously don't have a firm grasp on the concept of "information" vs. random "stuff," or what have you.
(This might have been worth its own thread...
Semi-related: Click me!
I generally find that information theory and stuff is espoused by Christians a lot because they will say things like "evolution never leads to an increase in information, only a loss," but I also do know that there is a very real thing called information theory which relates to electrical engineering and stuff which I don't really get. :9 Maybe a mathy person will come along and answer for you!
madviking
north american scum
Yes. Pi is infinite and nonrepeating. Thus all possible combinations are present, including the entire works of Shakespeare. You'll just have to search faaaaaaa(aaa)^(aaa)^(aaa)aaar into the number, but it's there.
Mango Elephant
Deity
Is .99999~ equal to 1?
azzaman333
meh
I believe so.
Huayna Capac357
Deity
Yes, provably so.
EDIT:
Easiest:
1/3 = 0.33333...
1/3*3 = 0.33333...*3
3/3 = 0.99999...
3/3 = 1
1 = 0.99999...
EDIT:
Easiest:
1/3 = 0.33333...
1/3*3 = 0.33333...*3
3/3 = 0.99999...
3/3 = 1
1 = 0.99999...
PeteAtoms
FormulaRandom
(1/3) = 0.333...
3 x (1/3) = 0.999... = (3/3) = 1
So yeah, I think so.
But I guess:
1 - (0.999999...) = 0.000...001 = 0
is true too.
madviking
north american scum
If 0.999... is infinite then yes, by definition.
1) Yes, with a common interpretation of the binaries. But you need much more time to find all the works of Shakespeare in pi than to write your own Shakespeare.
2) To avoid these sorts of paradoxons like in 1), the information that is contained of a given text is defined as the number of bits that you need to reproduce it correctly. Pi, by this definition, contains hardly any information. You can write a short computer program that reproduces pi with desired accuracy.
If you manage to find all the works of Shakespeare in pi, you can define it as being the text from the n-th to the m-th bit in pi with a certain interpretation. You can expect n and m to be of comparable size or even longer than all the works of Shakespeare.
Yes! My favourite thread is back.
What is it about Americans that makes them scream uncontrollably like total morons whenever they're on television or win even the smallest thing? It's extremely annoying. And it appears to be contagious, as I'm noticing more and more non-Americans doing it.
What is it about Americans that makes them scream uncontrollably like total morons whenever they're on television or win even the smallest thing? It's extremely annoying. And it appears to be contagious, as I'm noticing more and more non-Americans doing it.
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