tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post3792811749197906531..comments2024-03-27T19:58:17.387-05:00Comments on Computational Complexity: The Ketchup ProblemLance Fortnowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06752030912874378610noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-43496969999487894452012-07-07T18:45:23.853-05:002012-07-07T18:45:23.853-05:00When I was in middle school a problem was left on ...When I was in middle school a problem was left on the board which read, when is 6*9 = 42. I had been exposed to binary at some point and eventually found that in base13 6*9 would equal 42.Drakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00447580084104857548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-37239957406498804992012-07-01T12:47:09.187-05:002012-07-01T12:47:09.187-05:00When I was a kid growing up in Oklahoma City, my m...When I was a kid growing up in Oklahoma City, my mom told me that at 12 noon, the sun was exactly overhead. Since 12 noon in Oklahoma City was also 12 noon in Tulsa, I didn't understand how the sun could be directly overhead both Oklahoma City and Tulsa at the same time.Ron Faginhttp://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/fagin/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-58442561046169721792012-06-29T09:12:45.651-05:002012-06-29T09:12:45.651-05:002nd and fourth questions I used to think also.. Th...2nd and fourth questions I used to think also.. The question you started with came to mind also.. but I don't know how a child gets their intuitions in mathematics but I had some feelings that it can take infinite ('too much' for a child) time.<br /><br />I also had some foolish concepts which made me apart from chemistry.. I used to think how it is possible to write 'Ca' over an Atom of Ca.<br /><br />I also used to think that mathematics can describe everything, so when I couldn't get answers from my teacher I used to think he doesn't know it.<br /><br />I can't remmeber.. but I am sure there should be some interesting thoughts..Kapil Rajakhttp://cse.iitkgp.ac.in/~kdkr/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-57557955978118742672012-06-25T20:27:29.009-05:002012-06-25T20:27:29.009-05:00Surface tension means that the drops effectively h...Surface tension means that the drops effectively have a minimum size, which is why you don't see ketchup dripping out molecule-by-molecule, let alone quark-by-quark.aram harrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01272118188252697149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-83508938526580433132012-06-25T19:55:08.815-05:002012-06-25T19:55:08.815-05:00I remember being constantly befuddled by problems ...I remember being constantly befuddled by problems which I knew could be modeled mathematically but I honestly didn't have the analytic tools I have now, mostly game theoretic problems. i.e., as a kid I always wished I could figure out some super-efficient rock-paper-scissors algorithm which would make me unbeatable (and thus obviously the coolest kid in school). Alas, I now know that simple randomization is the most effective process.<br /><br />I also distinctly remember trying to generalize arithmetic functions as a high-schooler: I figured, if addition is just repeated succession and multiplication is just repeated addition and so on, then couldn't we just have a general function like f(a,b,c) such that if c=0 then a and b are added, if c=1 then a and b are multiplied, etc.? This literally kept me up all night, as I found myself needing more and more general functions to truly generalize. I never ended up coming to a conclusion that satisfied me (in a really similar way to how Cantor's transfinite ordinal and cardinal numbers always failed to satisfy me, I'm not entirely sure why...), though I remember that curiosity being rekindled while learning about the "arithmetical hierarchy" in your Theory of Computation class. Come to think of it, if you or anyone else have/has recommendations for readings which may shed more light on this topic please let me know!<br /><br />-BadassJeff Jacobshttp://www.jpowerj.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-24414691693042164642012-06-22T10:28:03.354-05:002012-06-22T10:28:03.354-05:00There are molecules
Then protons/neutrons/electron...There are molecules<br />Then protons/neutrons/electrons<br />Then quarks<br />Then- who knows what those physicists will tell us next!GASARCHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06134382469361359081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-11923703352745606752012-06-22T10:18:47.896-05:002012-06-22T10:18:47.896-05:00Surely you don't think today that there are an...Surely you don't think today that there are an infinite number of drops of ketchup. Ketchup is only ketchup as long as the drops are at least big enough to contain molecules of the stuff. Beyond that, your "drops" are atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, tomatogen, etc, and beyond that you're just putting protons and neutrons on your burger.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-59981034248383690242012-06-21T23:25:11.651-05:002012-06-21T23:25:11.651-05:00@GASARCH I am at the least disappointed about ur b...@GASARCH I am at the least disappointed about ur blog post quality, it is deterioriating. If u wanted to report something interesting then why don't do something more relevant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-13215907961231270742012-06-21T14:12:57.697-05:002012-06-21T14:12:57.697-05:00As a kid for a very long time I was obsessed with ...As a kid for a very long time I was obsessed with perpetual motion machines. I had pretty much convinced myself that the rotor in an electrical generator would continue to spin by itself producing electricity for free if only internal friction could be circumvented. Only much later when I was finally in engineering school I finally understood the concept of magnetic field induced by the electricity that gets generated which in turn produces the primary component of 'drag' on the rotor. A principle that is so very obvious that even today I feel embarrassed about my naivety in earlier days. I do often wonder, however, what it is that keeps creationists stuck to their kool-aid, smokers to their tobacco and a significant number of car owners to their gas guzzlers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-40686670393547811922012-06-21T12:26:53.998-05:002012-06-21T12:26:53.998-05:00As a teenager I wondered how far away the horizon ...As a teenager I wondered how far away the horizon is, and realized that this could be computed from the dimensions of the earth (modulo refractive properties of the atmosphere). With some encouragement from my grandfather (and use of his computer to look up the dimensions), I calculated that the horizon is about 5 miles away for a 6-ft tall person standing at sea level.Ericnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-81235553203860482822012-06-21T10:13:21.372-05:002012-06-21T10:13:21.372-05:00Speaking of Ketchup, may I give you the link of an...Speaking of Ketchup, may I give you the link of an excellent article http://iml.univ-mrs.fr/~girard/mustard/article.html<br />" Mustard watches : an integrated approach to time and food"<br />It also speak a little bit about ketchupAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13043214976817388233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-83590810348181617532012-06-21T09:58:28.988-05:002012-06-21T09:58:28.988-05:00Well, the 5th question is related to a problem in ...Well, the 5th question is related to a problem in graph theory, isn't it? It is easy to show that for every graph with 6 vertices, there is a triangle either in the graph or in its complement. So perhaps you could have pursued it and still come out as a mathematician :)Andre Manoelhttp://fge.if.usp.br/~amanoelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-89554330747882506782012-06-21T08:56:46.085-05:002012-06-21T08:56:46.085-05:00I got obsessed as a kid by the question of the bes...I got obsessed as a kid by the question of the best strategy for attacking another country in the board game Risk. This involved rolling either one, two, or three dice, and your opponent rolling either one or two, with the constraint that you had to have that many "armies" in the country. One then compared the two highest, and next two highest, dice to see who lost an army. I was pretty sure the best strategy was always to roll as many dice as possible, but wanted to know for sure. This led me to try to extensive fooling around with discrete probability, game trees, etc.Dave Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06172997671895163683noreply@blogger.com