Re: A quest for two(irrational) numbers

In article <m2iqn971fe.fsf@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Art Werschulz <agw@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
Hi.

moshes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

backon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
"Henry Goodman" <henry.goodman@xxxxxxxxxx> writes:
<backon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
"Cesare Cantoni" <cantonic@xxxxxx> writes:

For those among you who know how to derive a good estimate for Pi from
Scriprures (I Kings 7:23).

I'm wondering if there exists (in Scriptures) an equivalent for "e".
Perhaps someone could help...

I *think* this may be in the Talmud (issurita d'bei rebi) on limits

That was my guess as well.

but I'm no expert in math (understatement of the 20th century) :-)

So you can't count up to 21? What century are you living in?

I told you I'm not good at math :-)

Don't feel bad Josh. Remember, the whole world is divided into three
groups. Those good in math. Those not good in math.

Alternatively, the world is divided into 10 groups: those who understand
binary arithmetic, and those who don't.

More seriously: When people ask me about my background and I tell them
that my PhD is in mathematics, they often look down at the ground,
shuffle their feet, and say, "I was never good at math." (That would be
"maths" for our British friends.:-) This also happened when I was in
graduate school. At a family gathering (my wife's family), the men were
in one corner, the women were in another corner. All of a sudden, my
wife noticed that all the other men were edging away from me, muttering
to themselves. She asked me what I had said that made them act thusly.
I told her that when they asked what I did, I told them that I was a
grad student in math.


You're lucky an uncle didn't whisper in you ear "PLASTICS!!".


I have never heard a similar reaction to other fields (English,
chemistry, history, whatever...). Does anybody have a guess as to why
math is singled out for such behavior?


Because those subjects are simple and understandable. I have to make
a confession. As a university faculty member I shouldn't have done this
but I did. 13 years ago, my neighbor's kid was my Ninjintsu instructor
and also majoring in East Asian studies at the university. He had to write
a paper (history dept) on some obscure topic in early 19th century
British history and was stuck. He asked for help even though I told
him I hadn't had the utter faintest idea about British history in the years
1805 - 1820. It was Chol haMoed Pessach and the weather was horrible
so taking the family on a trip was out of the question. I asked for the
3 texts he had and after sitting with him for 8 hours "we" had a nice
4 page paper in English that he submitted.

Here's the punchline: the professor was so impressed by the paper (!!)
that he asked him if he'd like to do an MA in European History under
his tutelage. The kid, naturally, had to politely decline :-)

I was about to say the old punchline, "Oy mister! Have YOU got a
wrong number !!"

Josh

--
Art Werschulz (agw STRUDEL comcast.net)
207 Stoughton Ave Cranford NJ 07016
(908) 272-1146
.

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