@Hayter
"We can have less than nothing in mathematics. All negative numbers are "less than nothing". "

isn't it zero is nothing?

these question makes me wild.! i can't get it

(April 22, 2010 at 8:05 am)Tiberius Wrote: We can have less than nothing in mathematics. All negative numbers are "less than nothing".

Which goes to reflect that math is not "reality"

(April 23, 2010 at 6:33 pm)Saerules Wrote:

(April 22, 2010 at 8:05 am)Tiberius Wrote: We can have less than nothing in mathematics. All negative numbers are "less than nothing".

Which goes to reflect that math is not "reality"

aw... that is inaccurate, IMO. negative numbers may represent physical events such as deceleration. if I'm not mistaken, scalar quantities cannot be described by negative numbers. Math may be a description of reality just as a painting is a description of 'reality'. remember, reality is reality.

(April 23, 2010 at 3:02 am)aufis Wrote: @Hayter
"We can have less than nothing in mathematics. All negative numbers are "less than nothing". "

isn't it zero is nothing?

these question makes me wild.! i can't get it

Zero is nothing. Negative numbers are less than nothing. Just because you can't have -1 loaves of bread in the real world, doesn't mean -1 doesn't exist in mathematics.

(April 23, 2010 at 7:03 pm)The_Flying_Skeptic Wrote:

(April 23, 2010 at 6:33 pm)Saerules Wrote:

(April 22, 2010 at 8:05 am)Tiberius Wrote: We can have less than nothing in mathematics. All negative numbers are "less than nothing".

Which goes to reflect that math is not "reality"

aw... that is inaccurate, IMO. negative numbers may represent physical events such as deceleration.

And I can represent a speckled toad by the letter "B". Does that mean the toad is the letter "B"?

The concept of negative numbers is that they are less than nothing. We use them for subtraction and the like. However, you can't have less than nothing in reality... the lowest you can go under normal space-time (to my knowledge!) is zero.

Quote:if I'm not mistaken, scalar quantities cannot be described by negative numbers. Math may be a description of reality just as a painting is a description of 'reality'. remember, reality is reality.

I would agree that math can describe reality... however (in the way the water you paint is not 'real') you can't have 6 bananas less than none. You just have no bananas. You might owe someone six bananas, and have none... but what this means is that when you get bananas again, that person gets 6 of them... not that you were holding 6 bananas less than none the entire time

(April 11, 2010 at 10:58 pm)Tiberius Wrote: A simple question, but a not so simple answer:

What is the first number that comes after 0?

two possibilities:

a. 0/(2^infinite) - perhaps you can calculate this number :))
b. product(i=1,infinite) of 1/(10^i) i.e. 1/10 * 1/100 * 1/1000 * ...

^ = at the power of.

Infinity isn't a number, ergo you cannot use it in a calculation.

2^infinity is meaningless.

(March 12, 2011 at 10:46 am)Tiberius Wrote: Infinity isn't a number, ergo you cannot use it in a calculation.

2^infinity is meaningless.

actually, you can use infinity in a calculation, for instance:
0.(1) = 1/10 + 1/100 + 1/1000 + ... = sum (i = 1, infinity) of 1/10^i

That isn't using infinity in a calculation, that is a formula that regresses "to infinity", or "tends to infinity". The value of infinity isn't used in that calculation since it doesn't exist.

If it is a value used, then please tell me what 10^infinity equals.

(March 12, 2011 at 11:57 am)Tiberius Wrote: That isn't using infinity in a calculation, that is a formula that regresses "to infinity", or "tends to infinity". The value of infinity isn't used in that calculation since it doesn't exist.

If it is a value used, then please tell me what 10^infinity equals.

then it means this:

Quote:product(i=1,infinite) of 1/(10^i) i.e. 1/10 * 1/100 * 1/1000 * ...

should be valid as this:

Quote:sum (i = 1, infinity) of 1/10^i = 1/10 + 1/100 + 1/1000 + ...

is valid.