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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/22/2017 in all areas

  1. @Delano even to this day! "PROOFS are the currency of mathematics, but Srinivasa Ramanujan, one of the all-time great mathematicians, often managed to skip them. Now a proof has been found for a connection that he seemed to mysteriously intuit between two types of mathematical function. The proof deepens the intrigue surrounding the workings of Ramanujan’s enigmatic mind. It may also help physicists learn more about black holes – even though these objects were virtually unknown during the Indian mathematician’s lifetime. Born in 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu, Ramanujan was self-taught and worked in almost complete isolation from the mathematical community of his time. Described as a raw genius, he independently rediscovered many existing results, as well as making his own unique contributions, believing his inspiration came from the Hindu goddess Namagiri. But he is also known for his unusual style, often leaping from insight to insight without formally proving the logical steps in between. “His ideas as to what constituted a mathematical proof were of the most shadowy description,” said G. H.Hardy (pictured, far right), Ramanujan’s mentor and one of his few collaborators. “His ideas as to what constituted a mathematical proof were of the most shadowy description” Despite these eccentricities, Ramanujan’s work has often proved prescient. This year is the 125th anniversary of his birth, prompting Ken Ono of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who has previously unearthed hidden depths in Ramanujan’s work, to look once more at his notebooks and letters. “I wanted to go back and prove something special,” says Ono. He settled on a discussion in the last known letter penned by Ramanujan, to Hardy, concerning a type of function now known as a modular form. Functions are equations that can be drawn as graphs on an axis, like a sine wave, and produce an output when computed for any chosen input or value. In the letter, Ramanujan wrote down a handful of what were then totally novel functions. They looked unlike any known modular forms, but he stated that their outputs would be very similar to those of modular forms when computed for the roots of 1, such as the square root -1. Characteristically, Ramanujan offered neither proof nor explanation for this conclusion." From the New Scientist... there's also a movie about this "amateur" called "The Man who knew infinity"
    2 points
  2. I adhere to the simple truism that time brings change, so it makes sense that in view of its history, the earth is going to go through another climate cycle. My personal sentiment is that there are other more pressing and immediate problems than global warming. The infra structure of this country, for instance. It needs to be repaired and updated, an undertaking that could eliminate impending danger and create thousands of jobs in the process. A simple glitch could cause an electrical blackout that would paralyze half the country and create long term chaos. America is crumbling from within. (And this includes its politics. The Democrats are obsolete and the Republicans are a toxic aberration, - a threat to the survival of the United States.) And, of course, the racial climate in this country is a man-made disaster that is eroding the inner cities.
    1 point
  3. “Maybe there's a few Asians sprinkled in here and there, but for the most part whether your believe climate change is real or false.....or if you believe it's real but is caused by man or by natural cycles.....all of your information has to come from White folks to back it up.” Wow! I really don’t know where to begin after reading this incredulous thread. Let me first start by saying I’m stunned to see the inference that somehow there is a “white science” that pertains and centers around white people. As far as I know, there is no color or race to science since it is supposed to be neutral and free of political (and racial) partisanship. Physics is physics, chemistry is chemistry, math is math, etc. And yes, Asians have chimed in on the subject of climate change. In 2015, the Chinese government released a scientific assessment of how global warming has affected and is likely to affect China. The 900-page “Third National Climate Change Assessment Report” was the work of 550 scientists and experts, summing up the environmental consequences of rising greenhouse gas levels and its impact on the environment. Their findings were in concurrence with the….ummmm…”white guys”. “Certainly there is nothing happening in our immediate environment as Black folks that is definitive enough to PROVE to us that something major is going on with the climate.” Um, what world are you living on? Is the sky blue? Is there gravity? You are living in the physical same space as NON-BLACKS yet you suggest there is nothing happening with black people but perhaps non-blacks? Nothing you know of the climate affects BLACK PEOPLE? OMG! So, you had no idea how “black Africans”, as a group, are probably the most adversely impacted people on the planet by climate change? You did not know this? Ok…ok… “In other words, to hell with what some of these White people are SAYING...what do you SEE with your own two eyes that God gave you that makes you take any of what they're saying seriously?” Ha! Ha! Ha! There is so much I have say in response to the ridiculousness of the statement above. Considering the depth and the extreme nature of the comment (parody?), it suggests something much more profoundly wrong and twisted. So, I won’t go there. However, I will say this: I never knew atmospheric/physical science, biology and applied mathematics (which includes geophysics, geochemistry, geology, soil science, oceanography, glaciology, palaeo-climatology, biological sciences such as ecology, synthetic biology, biochemistry, global change biology, biogeography, eco-physiology, ecological genetics, mathematics, statistics and computational analysis, mathematical modeling, mathematical statistics, time series analysis, etc, etc..) were “white sciences” that black people should always be skeptical of. I was always under the impression science was neutral discipline due to its empirical nature. Now, don’t get my wrong. A healthy dose of scrutiny and criticism is necessary and in my opinion –a good thing. But since Negroes, as a group, contribute little to nothing to the sciences that I mentioned, you are going to be hard pressed to find a “Negro science” (independent of nefarious “white science”) that makes the colored flat earth believers comfortable. It’s like concerning yourself with gas mileage of cars while living in an area where there are no paved roads or cars….
    1 point
  4. "Well Brother Farrakhan has atleast 2 million witnesses who can prove that his mission to organize a million Black men to march on Washington in 1995 was ACCOMPLISHED." Oh really? And what exactly did he accomplish? It's been more than twenty years since his so-called Million Man March, and Negroes are still mired in a quagmire of high unemployment, illegitimacy and fatherless homes, being the last in every single category of academic achievement, first in homicide (victims of other Negroes) which is the number one cause of death for black males 18-35, incarcerations being the norm, the negative perception and low expectation of black people by non-blacks is still unwavering, etc, etc. So, what was the outcome? What tangible and verifiable information do you have have that Farrakhan has minimized or eliminated the aforementioned? Wasn't that the purpose of his organizing, reaching out and effectively changing all what I mentioned though the alleged million men who showed up to hear him? Bottom line: How has the overhaul quality of life for the American Negro changed since the vaunted Farrakhan Million Man March?
    1 point
  5. Thanks MEl I am familiar with his story. I am currently reading the Man who loved only Numbers.Paul Erdos K. Srinivasa Rao has said,[109] "As for his place in the world of Mathematics, we quote Bruce C. Berndt: 'Paul Erdős has passed on to us Hardy's personal ratings of mathematicians. Suppose that we rate mathematicians on the basis of pure talent on a scale from 0 to 100, Hardy gave himself a score of 25, J. E. Littlewood 30, David Hilbert 80 and Ramanujan 100.'"
    1 point
  6. @Delano, folks don't want you to do that.... in fact, people get extremely nervous if you actually attempt to put in the work. I'm also leery of cause and effect folks who swear something happens as a result but always seem to miss a step... I told my mom years ago - everything I read about cholesterol and cardiac arrest was missing the link - but big pharma went ahead with their drug dispensing.. just the other day, a "new" study came out and stating the "drugs" are killing people faster than high cholesterol. All this to say - I see evidence of "climate change" as the "experts define it but I flip flop on the cause - with mostly believing fossil fuels may be causing climate change but maybe because - we continue to unearth it...
    1 point
  7. Del, no one is saying the science is perfect, they point out a potential problem, you run with it a reject the conclusions. That is fine, I'm ok with the conclusion presented in the Boston Globe article and the article you posted (when I actually did read). Both articles were entirely consistent given the information available and their assessment of it. I'm perfectly happy to agree with the conclusion they have arrived at. I also read the last article you posted, but I no longer see the link, I guess you removed it. I'm glad. Del, maybe if you went to Antarctica and collected data on how rapidly it is melting, or if you pulled core samples to measure CO levels, or measured tree rings, or performed any of the myriad other tests to measure climate over time you might arrive at a different conclusion. But you are perfectly free play weekend climatologist with your limited dataset, knowledge, and experience. I'm simply trusting the experts on this one. And really Del that is all it boils down to my trusting the scientists more that lay people in the general public. I understand how an airplane works, but I would not try to tell a pilot how to fly it. This is one of the reasons back seat drivers, especially the ones without licenses, are so annoying. It takes bravery to stand up for an unpopular position especially when they are in the extreme minority. Sometimes you have to step back, try to understand why so many knowledgeable people disagree with you rather than digging deeper and becoming even more rigid. Sometimes it takes more bravery to admit you still may not understand all of the issues to draw sound conclusions. Stay in your lane bruh and let the pros handle this one Truth be told, I actually wish you were right.
    1 point
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