1 = 0.999999999…

This simple equation, which states that the quantity 0.999, followed by an infinite string of nines, is equivalent to one, is the favorite of mathematician Steven Strogatz of Cornell University.

"I love how simple it is — everyone understands what it says — yet how provocative it is," Strogatz said. "Many people don't believe it could be true. It's also beautifully balanced. The left side represents the beginning of mathematics; the right side represents the mysteries of infinity."

Notes:

An equation that is challenging, provocative, and portrays both the certainty of mathematics and its infinity.

Folksonomies: beauty equations equations

Taxonomies:
/law, govt and politics/government (0.501126)
/science/mathematics (0.459566)
/health and fitness/nutrition (0.333013)

Keywords:
mathematician Steven Strogatz (0.983855 (positive:0.212749)), infinite string (0.790089 (neutral:0.000000)), simple equation (0.766225 (neutral:0.000000)), Cornell University (0.750887 (positive:0.212749)), infinity (0.591367 (positive:0.489497)), mathematics (0.483676 (positive:0.627384)), certainty (0.464538 (positive:0.627384)), nines (0.457385 (neutral:0.000000)), quantity (0.425793 (neutral:0.000000)), mysteries (0.403748 (positive:0.351611)), favorite (0.403501 (positive:0.212749)), beginning (0.397802 (neutral:0.000000)), 0.999 (0.389268 (neutral:0.000000))

Entities:
Steven Strogatz:Person (0.899882 (positive:0.212749)), Cornell University:Organization (0.575586 (positive:0.212749))

Album: The World's Most Beautiful Equations

Electronic/World Wide Web>Internet Article: Moskowitz, Clara (29 January 2013), Album: The World's Most Beautiful Equations, LiveScience, Retrieved on 2013-02-14

Source Material [www.livescience.com]

Folksonomies: mathematics beauty

Schemas

08 APR 2013

Non-Intuitive Mathematics

Mathematical truths that manifest cognitive dissonance in our brains.

Folksonomies: games mathematics intuition cognitive dissonance