WHY ALGEBRA IS AN ILLUSION
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(105 votes) Published: Oct 09, 2006 10:20 a.m. In 2 Favorites Lists Viewed 770 times |
(this story was wirtten by me and submitted instead of the maths exam i was supposed to be doing which i ’forgot’ to study for.)
2(1+2x)+3(x-4)
Many people have faced it; early in the morning, in the dead of night or in the afternoon. On the surface, this appears to be a simple algabreic problem with no other purpose or meaning other than to mildly torment students for a few minutes.
However, this obscure equation has a much deeper meaning. It would seem that all there is to it is to find out the true meaning of ’x’. If you were to take the time to work it out, you would probably find that x=3.
"what is so deep about that?" you may ask. Many things. For example, how do we know that ’x’ is not just an illusion and the true ’x’ is not something completely different, or that it doesn’t truly exist at all? In reality, ’x’ may equal 5 or 73 or maybe even 43!
Normally, humans naturally tend to trust in our ability to reason and tend to naively trust anything our senses tell us. It is impossible for a human to be absolutely sure of the true answer to this equation, because humans can never truly experience something.
For example, when you look at this page, the light reflected from the paper and ink is converted into an electrical pulse by your retinas. These signals are carried to your brain via your optic nerves, where they are decoded.
In this way, the pages appearence is recreated inside your brain. Therefore, the image of the page does not lie outside you, as you may think, but actually lies inside your brain. In other words, you can never really be sure that what you think you see truly reflects what actually exists, so you can never be sure of the actual nature of the maths problem.
So, if you were ever to get an answer other than 3, nobody can really prove that you are wrong. This, in my opinion completely destroys the idea of mathematics, since nobody can ever truly get an answer right or wrong, there is no way a teacher can grade you with the right number of points and give you the correct grade.
(P.S., I know that equation does not actually work out to three, so don’t bother pointing that out, math nazis) |
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 | Oct 09, 2006 10:44 am - Okay, first, in that equation, x does not equal 3 (x != 3 if you’re compusavvy), for one important reason:
2(1+2x)+3 #40;x-4) is not a fucking equation, you douche. And by the way, it reduces to 7x-2. It’s an expression because there is no equal sign.
Second, as for your whole speil of bullshit, it’s just that. x isn’t an illusion that equals 5, 73, or 43 because of the information we are given. For example:
4x+4=12
In that example, we are told that x is a number, such that when it is multiplied by four, after which four is added, the result is 12. This value for x only exists in this equation, because x has no intrinsic value, it’s just a representation for a heretofore unknown number. The basis of algebra is that an unknown can be found using the axioms supplied in the problem. Because we KNOW that this(and only this) x is 2 because that is the ONLY number, such that when it is multiplied by 4 (2*4=8) and added to 4 (8+4=12) the result is 12.
This is why you’re a retard and should be shot. |

 | Oct 09, 2006 10:48 am - wtf is wrong with you?! -1* you are a fucken retard. |

 | Oct 09, 2006 10:57 am - ahem, Matt-3975, please read the last line |

 | Oct 09, 2006 10:59 am - SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS amSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpam pamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpa SpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSp mSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamSpamS am |

 | Oct 09, 2006 11:01 am - umm.. 2* |

 | Oct 09, 2006 11:02 am - please read the rest of his comment, you are correct in the sense that what we see in the world is all just peices of information grouped together by our brain, and we are most likely limited in what we can perceive but that does not mean that algebra is an illusion, algebra is the logical way to solve problems in the world we see. |

 | Oct 09, 2006 11:11 am -
Quote: algebra is the logical way to solve problems in the world we see. that is exactly my point. if you cant be sure that the numbers you see are actually the numbers you see, (i.e. you think you see the number 7 but it could be 5) then if you apply algebraic logic to the problem, the answer is just as likely to be wrong. |

 | Oct 09, 2006 11:20 am - Are you dropping Acid? |

 | Oct 09, 2006 12:10 pm - ^^ lol yeh :] |

 | Oct 09, 2006 12:14 pm - lol okay, why not 5* |

 | Oct 09, 2006 1:01 pm - I HATE MATH!!
4**** |

 | Oct 09, 2006 1:29 pm -
Quote: And by the way, it reduces to 7x-2 Not quite. 2(1+2x)+ 3(x-4)reduces to 2+4x+3x-12 which is 7x-10. |

 | Oct 09, 2006 1:29 pm - I have a feeling that somebody was a little high when they thought of/wrote this. |

 | Oct 09, 2006 1:47 pm - to figure out x there needs to be a = sign
0* |

 | Oct 09, 2006 2:00 pm - i fucking hate maths + this means if maths is coming to RE it must be bull...everyone knew (even since jesus was around) that people wanted to abolish maths...but the didn’t because jesus’ deciples had to count his jesus creepers...0* ( because maths is sad, jesus creepers are sad, and one of his deciples was a judas, judas, judas!!! lol |

 | Oct 09, 2006 3:05 pm - I think you’re confusing ’deep’ with ’stupid’.
thi is like saying addition doesn’t work because of the "equation" 2+.
(if you’re into rpg’s you’d know that 2+ can do damage against undead, and a plus two to your damage and hit rolls, if its 2+ armour you get -2 bonus to your ac, and usually, but not always, some resistances)
if you want riddles then
what about: i always lie. am i lying?
or: if you lie to me, i will cut your head off, if you tell the truth, i will run you through.
(the answer is "you will cut my head off")
if a tree falls in a forest with no-one there to hear it, does it make a noise (according to quantum physics, no, it doesn’t.)
also a cool vanishing trick that can make god (at least the christian/jewish version) non-existant (its only a joke).
god says: i refuse to prove my own existance, for proof denies faith.
god also says: without faith, i am nothing.
heckler in the crowd says: but you created the universe, therefore you have proven you exist, which denies faith, and without faith you are nothing!
god says: oh no, i hadn’t thought of that one!
god promptly ceases to exist in a cloud of improbability and humans go on to prove that black is white and up is down. on another unrelated subject, thousands die in car accidents on zebra crossings. |

 | Oct 09, 2006 3:53 pm - agent smith, hes on to us, lets kill him before he discovers the matrix. |

 | Oct 09, 2006 4:05 pm - i didnt want to read this egg,but i thought it would be about something insulting about algebra.but now i know that this egg SUCKS.i dont like math.i dont like skool period |

 | Oct 09, 2006 6:09 pm - man this is awesome because i, like you, hate math. so this sweet. oh and matt-**** is a retard. |

 | Oct 09, 2006 7:16 pm - everybody that commented back arguing about how he got the equation wrong, theres a site called www.math.com waiting for you
quit fuckin being intellectuals here, because no matter how much shit you can prove, we still have an insult to make you cry like a bitch
5* because fags are gay |

 | Oct 09, 2006 7:34 pm - TheMan-1948
Dont spam this egg, i think it is fucking hilarious that u gave this in for an exam, i am laughing myself shitless, 5*s from me for u and ur profile! |

 | ct 10, 2006 5:00 pm - i hate philosophers |

 | Oct 10, 2006 5:34 pm - why is aljazera an illiusion?that would be a funnier egg.try that and you will get x=8 more stars |

 | Oct 11, 2006 11:15 am - i like the way u think |

 | Oct 11, 2006 11:19 am - In the world one of the axioms that we all have subscribe to to function is "what I perceive, is"...
Anybody could be like "[insert whatever] is an illusion and everything we see is an illusion" but it isn’t really meaningful, and it doesn’t accomplish anything, even if it were ’true’ (?).
So stop smoking so much you goddamn hippie =P. |

 | Oct 20, 2006 8:53 pm - algebra sucks ass | |
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