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Zero
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Ideas & Questions
- Hits: 1942
Now it seems like a simple enough thing, the invention of or discovery of zero. And if you're me, where the sum of your bank account/groceries/life savings/investments/ is nil, then it's a logical enough extension to assign it a value. But really - think about it - that point where all quantities become equal - where you can compare all things - for zero apples is indeed equal to zero oranges, and think of how much our current number systems, computing, banking - depend upon the number zero, and maybe you'll realize that it's not such a small discovery. Or invention - (another post - are numbers and their inherent laws invented or discovered?). But as my mind certainly isn't up to fathoming the intricacies and nuances of such accounting, here are a few sites to lead your thinking on:
"Without the notion of zero, the descriptive and prescriptive modeling processes in commerce, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and industry would have been unthinkable."
Link: Wikipedia on the Number Zero
Link: Zero Saga
NIghtwatching - Peter Greenaway
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 1955
A downloaded discovery (and he has more films that I'm not aware of and so will be on the Greenaway kick for a while) - "Nightwatching". It takes the premise that Rembrandt inserted clues that would identify a murderer in his famous Night Watch - and the entire film - par for Greenaway, reflects Rembrandt's use of darkness and light. Now reviews for this are mixed - and for the most part unkind - and Greenaway is not a director you would want to walk in on accidentally. But if you see it, knowing his previous work and style and expecting the density of ideas, the graphic sexuality, the rich, sumptuous imagery, then you probably won't be disappointed.
The Circle
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Ideas & Questions
- Hits: 2131
Consider the circle. In it are embodied a multiplicity of ideas and questions - emblematic of perfection, (think of the Halo), of completeness, the perfect 2 dimensional shape (and in 3 dimensions the Sphere, but arguable the Sphere stems from the circle and so we'll limit ourselves here). There is no way to accurately - precisely - calculate it's area - PI being only an approximation, an irrational number, yet it's appearance belies it's complexity.
Think of a circle in motion, rotating around a central axis. An infinitely large circle - at it's center - absolute center, there is a point of absolute rest - no motion whatsoever. And then it's diameter, drawn far enough out, vastly exceeding the speed of light and as a consequence going back through time.
Or if this is too much consider that there's no simple way - in fraction or decimal - to express PI. There therefore can be no circle whose area is a whole number - by definition it will always involve some uncertainty or remainder.
Or consider some of the open questions about PI, reprinted here from Pi History:
- Does each of the digits 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 each occur infinitely often in π?
- Brouwer's question: In the decimal expansion of π, is there a place where a thousand consecutive digits are all zero?
- Is π simply normal to base 10? That is does every digit appear equally often in its decimal expansion in an asymptotic sense?
- Is π normal to base 10? That is does every block of digits of a given length appear equally often in its decimal expansion in an asymptotic sense?
Links: Wiki on the Circle & Squaring the circle
Intellectual Snob
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: People
- Hits: 1749
And the boy calls, he's wondering if he can come and stay with me for a few days.
I'm delighted, of course, but am wondering why this all of a sudden, especially with the cats and his allergies -
His mom takes the phone:
"I just wanted to say that your boy has grown up to be JUST LIKE YOU! And I can't take it anymore so he's going to come to live with you and..."
And she carries on, she's having a bit of a fit. The boy, he's in his early teens, you knew it would come to this sooner or later, but I'm a bit surprised that she should accuse him of being "just like me", which seems a bit harsh, and I'm surprised because we've gotten along, more or less, the past 15 years pretty good and so - well, to be the victim of her righteous wrath right now....
There's a pause for a moment in her ranting and I slip in a question - "What's he done?" I ask, and this is an invitation for her to start again....
"He's an intellectual snob..." she finishes, and it's fair enough, I can see this and it's probably time the boy and I had a little talk. We make our plans.
When we get together I explain to him the rules, assign him Lord Chesterfield to read, punishment enough when you're 15, and I ask what precipitated this outburst....
"We were having a discussion and she was arguing that material things don't define you and I explained that I thought they did...." and I sympathize, he's doomed, there's a few years ahead where he's going to have to hide his light under a bushel and I explain that there's some things some people don't want to talk about and for the next few years he can't win. He accepts it.
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