There’s just something inherently beautiful about stuff like
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
Trigonometry, too. It’s so priceless that the sun and moon appear to be exactly the same size from here, despite their differences in diameter and distance.
How about these equations ? Notice that the “left-side” numbers contain no zeroes.
8 * 125 =             1,000
64 * 15,625 =       1,000,000
512 * 1,953,125 = 1,000,000,000
screams
covers eyes
I did NOT just read that.
backs away
1/27= .037037…
1/37= .027027…
[From Charles Fleischer’s old Moleeds routine.]
and the digits of multiples of 3 add up to be a multiples of 3
and the digits of multiples of 9 add up to be a multiples of 9
10[sup]3[/sup] + 9[sup]3[/sup] = 1,729
12[sup]3[/sup] + 1[sup]3[/sup] = 1,729
1,729 is the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of two perfect cubes in two different ways. That’s pretty cool.
There are no natural numbers which are not interesting. If there were, there would be a least one, and that would make it interesting.
e[sup]i*pi[/sup]=-1
1/243=0.004115226337448559670781893004115…
Today in physics, the professor was talking about equations depicting motion. He put one equation up that I recognized from high school physics, then did the integral of it and came up with another equation I recognized. Having just taken integral calculus last year, I first realized how the second equation was created, and it made my day. I was like “Whoa, now I know where that equation comes from, and I know how it came to be!” Seriously, it completely awed me and it seemed like the most awesome thing ever. Even though it’s pretty mundane compared to the rest of physics and math.
So anyway, math is cool.
Philosophy is written in this grand book—I mean the universe—
which stands continually open to our gaze, but it cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language and interpret the characters in which it is written. It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometrical figures, without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it. : Galileo Galilei
I thank God everyday for the base ten system.
3 is a magic number.
Yes it is.
Do you remember when math actually clicked in your head and the “confusion” vanished. I remember all through school. Clear up to graduating from high school, struggling with mathematical concepts. I did well in school, straight A’s, honors and all that crap but it was tough. My math teachers apparently didn’t understand it well enough to make sense of it, I guess.
I retaught myself a lot of math after high school. When I went to college at 30…damn, math started getting tough again. I remember working through some trig functions in physics while taking an advanced calc class…and a programming course one summer semester (at the same time). :eek:
BTW I do not recommend anyone do this BAD BAD BAD no sleep/life
It was like a switch went off or ON in this case and it just started making sense. After college I went on to teach math at an alternative school for a few years. Actually I taught all the courses offered between grades 6-12 but specialized in math.
These kids were mostly 14-18 y/o boys that had been expelled from school for ??? drugs, weapons etc…You know?
Most were basically NON-FUNCTIONAL in math, some actually counted on their fingers!
There is nothing as great as seeing a kid snap to a concept, especially math. Talk about a confidence builder…a person who is not afraid of math, that used to be, can do anything they want.
My lil’ bro…is an ace mechanic, but was alway shy of the math.
I sat him down one weekend and taught him some algebra/geometry/ little calc…he got IT when we converted cu"/torque/horsepower back and forth on different motors. Since then, he loves math. 
Sorry ‘bout the rant. Gotta go build some stairs today…
I’ve got three sets of stringers for a set of steps on a deck. They are 2"x12" treated boards. The stairs will have a 6" rise per 12" deep step. The deck is 4 1/2’ off the ground, the ground slopes downhill at 10degrees. The angle of the stringers/steps will be 30degrees from the deck to where it meet the ground.
How long will the 2"x12" boards/stringers have to be in order to reach the deck AND how many steps will it take?
I’m gonna go start in a few minutes…be back this evening. See if ya got it right. 
Nope, 'cause I’m almost 33, and it still hasn’t happened. I’m a pretty smart guy in a lot of respects, but numbers have always been tough for me. Actually, being essentially math-illiterate never really bothered me much until fairly recently. I’ve been learning how to play poker, and quickly figuring out pot odds when you have trouble with basic math is a bitch. I’m seriously thinking about getting a ‘Math For Dummies’ type book just to help with that. Anyone recommend one?
Your first mistake is thinking that math is about numbers.
I agree that math is cool… I just wish I were better at it. Pre-calc was rough and it went downhill from there.
I’ll accept that if you explain a little more what you mean. The math they attempted to teach me in school certainly seemed to only be about numbers (save for geometry, which at its base was about numbers as well). But as I said, it’s not a subject I was ever good at, so I’m certainly willing to learn I’m wrong. Exactly how do you mean it’s not about numbers?
A lot of mathmatics doesn’t really involve numbers at all, e.g. Euclidian geometry could probably be tackled without ever dealing with a single number. A lot of other mathematics uses numbers, but is less dependent on them than, oh…let’s say, literature is dependent on the printed word. The study of calculus uses numbers as a means to provide concrete examples as a means to work through & better understand the material, but to really understand calculus, and therefore a huge chunk of the universe we live in, doesn’t actually require any numbers at all. Indeed, economists have proven (& discovered) some very important things using mathmatics without really relying on numbers at all, e.g. the tragedy of the commons.
You may not be good at arithmetic. But I’m willing to bet that it is for no particularly good reason. Unfortunately we live in a society that is more or less mathmatically illiterate, so that even the most basic study is seen as a Herculean task of no real value. That poor attitude rubs off on us and we pass it on in turn, IMO.
If you have time, check out Mathematics: The Science of Patterns as an overview of what subjects are really covered by math.
Yep, mathematics is cool.
(1/1)+(1/4)+(1/9)+(1/16)+(1/25)+(1/36)+… [the numbers are squares]
equals
(4/3)(9/8)(25/24)(49/48)(121/120)(169/168)… [numerators are squares of prime numbers. denomenators are one less.]
equals
(pi^2)/6
Now, that is just freaky.