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3D Imaging: A Practical Use of Mathematics
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3D imaging used in dentistry. Once a panoramic x-ray is taken, the technician uses software to rotate the image; the software uses matrix mathematics to compute the position of the rotated image. One use for matrix math is in programming 3D engines for video games. A single point on the screen can be defined as a vector. The TV or computer screen is two-dimensional only, so to create the look of depth, objects must change size as they come closer to the viewer or go farther back into the scene. An image is made up of hundreds or thousands of vectors. By multiplying this set or matrix, you can change its size. You can also multiply the vector array by another array, which allows you to rotate the image. In rotation, parts of the image become ...
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2028 |
bio_man |
10 months ago |
Simulating the evolution of aggression
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This video brings to life the evolution of aggresive behavior in a population, and its relation to game theory – the field of mathematics concerned with quantifying strategic behavior and decision-making. The author illustrates what happens in an artificial population of species that exhibit two entirely different strategies as they compete for resources. In the first strategy called ‘dove’, organisms are required to share their food source with the other if both happen to land at the same site after being randomly shuffled. Sharing your food source allows the organism to survive another cycle, but not reproduce, unless they’re fortunate enough to land at a site all by them self. The author shows that if this cooperative strategy is ...
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3667 |
duddy |
A year ago |
Four color theorem
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The Four Color Theorem is a famous mathematical theorem that states that no more than four colors are required to color the regions of any map so that no two adjacent regions have the same color. Adjacent means that two regions share a common boundary curve segment, not merely a corner where three or more regions meet. Unlike other proofs before its discovery, computers were used to resolve this long-standing mathematical conjecture that was first proposed in 1850 by Francis Guthrie. After more than a century later, mathematicians, Kenneth Appel and Wolfgang Haken, finally derived its proof in 1976, and determined that it is practicality impossible for humans to verify it without the use of a computer. According to the four color theorem, a ...
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5289 |
bio_man |
2 years ago |
Can 1 equal 2? Spot the error
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A defining features of learning mathematics is being able to read, write, and discover proofs. A proof is a method of communicating a mathematical truth to another person who speaks the "language" of mathematics. It's a way of showing whether a statement made is absolutely true or false. I recently came across a fallacious proof attempting to show that the integer one equals two – shown are the steps to accomplish this. Common sense dictates that this is impossible, but the proof is somewhat convincing to the untrained eye. However, most people with basic algebraic knowledge should be able to pick out the mistake, so take a minute or two to see if you can identify the incorrect step. If you're stuck, don't give up so quickly! It's easier th ...
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39527 |
bio_man |
2 years ago |
Top 5 Interesting Math Facts You Never Knew
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1) Roman Numeral IVAlthough the Roman numeral for the number 4 has always been taught to have been "IV," according to historians, the ancient Romans probably used "IIII" most of the time. This is partially backed up by the fact that early grandfather clocks displayed IIII for the number 4 instead of IV. Early clockmakers apparently thought that the IIII balanced out the VIII (used for the number 8) on the clock face and that it just looked better. 2) Base 60The Babylonians wrote numbers in a system that used 60 as the base value rather than the number 10. They did not have a symbol for "zero." 3) Fraction BarThe Romans did not use numerals to indicate fractions but instead used words to indicate parts of a whole. It wasn't until later in h ...
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1226 |
bio_man |
5 years ago |
Chances are you're an envious person
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According to a new study on human behavior, 90% of the population can be classified into four basic personality types: Optimistic, Pessimistic, Trusting and Envious. However, the latter of the four types, Envious, is the most common, with 30% compared to 20% for each of the other groups. If you're the type of person who doesn't mind what you achieve, just as long as it's better than everyone else, then you're considered envious. Optimists, which account for 20% of the people tested in the study, are those who believe that they and their partner will make the best choice for both of them. Pessimists were defined in the study as those who selected the option which they see as the lesser of two evils - they accounted for 20% as well. The trusti ...
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4872 |
duddy |
7 years ago |
How the Turing machine works
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A Turing machine is a hypothetical machine thought of by the mathematician Alan Turing in 1936. Despite its simplicity, the machine can simulate ANY computer algorithm, no matter how complicated it is. Put simply, the Turing machine isn't a physical machine, but you can imagine it as an never-ending line of tape, broken down into squares. On each of those squares is a 1, a 0, or nothing at all. The machine reads one square at a time, and depending on what it reads, it performs an action - it either erases the number and writes a new one before moving on, or simply moves on to a different square. Each of those actions, which mathematicians call a 'state', are determined by the mathematical algorithm or problem the Turing machine has been desi ...
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4826 |
duddy |
7 years ago |
Nautical mile explained
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Every ship sails a mile a minute. A nautical mile is one minute of arc measured along any meridian. In other words, a nautical mile is based on the circumference of the planet Earth. If you were to cut the Earth in half at the equator, you could pick up one of the halves and look at the equator as a circle. You could divide that circle into 360 degrees. You could then divide a degree into 60 minutes. A minute of arc on the planet Earth is 1 nautical mile. This unit of measurement is used by all nations for air and sea travel. ...
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70807 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
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