Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[Tal]

Fractals have a fair bit in common with a pretty complicated area of mathematics called modular forms.

Greater mathmos than I (ruud jumps to mind...) will explain this better than I but my thumbs are over the keypad and by Jove I'm up for giving it a bash.

Symmetry is something we are all familiar with. If you look at the tiles on a roof, if you move all the tiles up one, it still looks the same. That is called translational symmetry.

Modular forms are extreme versions of this because their symmetry is infinite. (Here is where my head starts to hurt) So much symmetry, it extends into four dimensions (two real and two complex).

Click to see full-size image.

In Escher's Circle Limit IV, the angels and the bats would be the same size all the way round.

Curiously, it was the proof of a conjecture on modular forms that led to the proof of Fermat's Last Theorem (which says that there are no solutions to the equation a^x+b^x=c^x, where x > 2).

Maths is a beautiful thing.

[Jon MW]

...
Maths is a beautiful thing.

If it's done right it is

"... Beauty is the first test: There is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.”-- G. H. Hardy

[RED-DOG]

It is now quite lawful for a Catholic woman to avoid pregnancy by a resort to mathematics, though she is still forbidden to resort to physics or chemistry.

H. L. Mencken

[Machka]

...
Maths is a beautiful thing.

If it's done right it is

"... Beauty is the first test: There is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.”-- G. H. Hardy

If you Google beautiful formula you find:

Euler's identity 

From wikipedia:

After proving Euler's identity during a lecture, Benjamin Peirce, a noted American 19th century philosopher/mathematician and a professor at Harvard University, stated that "It is absolutely paradoxical; we cannot understand it, and we don't know what it means, but we have proved it, and therefore we know it must be the truth."

[Tal]

That's such an elegant post, Machka.

It is like e=mc². It is simply too beautiful not to be true!

[MANTIS01]

I really enjoy reading you describe hands. The problem with PHA board is that hand discussion has gravitated to a place where there is a correct mathmatical answer which you arrive at through pokerstove and only that answer is an acceptable response, if you don't provide the correct answer you are fodder. But the vast majority of us will be meeting a full range of different players at the tables and so diverse comments from a wide range of people from young to old, novice to experienced, about how they think is actually the best answer to any hand discussion, this way we get to know how each other think. Used to like Tighty's PHA stuff also. Not sure about the mixed games tho.

[tikay]

I really enjoy reading you describe hands. The problem with PHA board is that hand discussion has gravitated to a place where there is a correct mathmatical answer which you arrive at through pokerstove and only that answer is an acceptable response, if you don't provide the correct answer you are fodder. But the vast majority of us will be meeting a full range of different players at the tables and so diverse comments from a wide range of people from young to old, novice to experienced, about how they think is actually the best answer to any hand discussion, this way we get to know how each other think. Used to like Tighty's PHA stuff also. Not sure about the mixed games tho.

Thank you Mr MANTIS.

I agree, the PHA board gets a bit "theoretical" for many of us, but the fact is, many of the lads play 10 or 12 tables at a time, & it becomes a mechanical exercise, just doing the standard +ev things time after time, with little time to adjust to specifics & dynamics. Completely correctly too, I daresay, but I play poker because I want to enjoy it, it is a recreational pursuit, & for me, I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than 12 table in the back bedroom.

And the psychology of different situations is the fun for me, too. When I had that A-A-K-K-6-5 triple suited beauty, with £2,500 in front of me, half of me was cheering & high-fiving, the other half of me was groaning. A beautiful, beautiful game.

Horses for courses, different strokes for diferent folks, & other assorted analogies may apply. They enjoy their game, I enjoy mine, it's cool.

I do hope that you & the long suffering Mrs MANTIS have a lovely Xmas. It's been some time since I saw you, we ought to catch up in the New Year.

[tikay]

Just one last comment on that 6 card hand where I did the lot.

I knew BEFORE I took my seat that Richard Berridge & Pete Linton would go after each other, & I knew I HAD to get Position on both. Richard always takes the same seat, & Pete always sits behind him.

So, the call comes over the PA, "The DC game is starting on Table 64, take your seats" da de da.

Then came THE most bizarre game of musical chairs, with Richard, Pete & myself (combined age must be north of 130) jostling, pushing & shoving for the desired seats. Proper com, as the lads might say.

I got the right seat, & refused to leave the table until the game started, in case the nut seat got nabbed.

Grown men, & a game of cards, eh?

[RED-DOG]

I just don't like copy and pasted hand histories. I'd much rather someone say "I made it 300 to go from the cut off and the guy on the button back raised me."

[tikay]

I just don't like copy and pasted hand histories. I'd much rather someone say "I made it 300 to go from the cut off and the guy on the button back raised me."

Yes, you & me too, Tom, but we are dinasours from a bygone age, HH's are all the rage now.

Those 'Stars HH's you see on the Staking Boards & PHA - I can honestly say I have never read one. I tried, but it just makes my head explode. I'd rather peruse a Wiki page on lichens or concrete. Or even lichens ON concrete.

See what I did there? - a bit of the old range-merging.

Huh, the lads think they know it all. When did Flushy last triple range-merge concrete & lichens?

[MANTIS01]

Yeah Tony me and Mrs Mantis are in Morocco having a fabulous time. I have brownie points till well after xmas for sure. She is currently having a 2 hour massage so killing time by the pool in the blazing hot sun with waiter constantly bringing over ice cold beers . Off to Atlantic casino later for big local poker comp where you can actually smoke at the table. Isn't Xmas terrible!

The important thing is we can't get introverted or allow third parties to affect our desire to post things we want to say on a forum. Why should we let anybody else control want we want to say? You don't post hand histories cos some people may not be interested, Greekstein wont post because of a third party, people wont post on PHA because of fear about flaming from third parties to name but a few examples. If we all don't post cos of somebody else what would become of a forum? People who have something to say should just say it. Wouldn't go overboard on the mixed games mind

[doubleup]

...
Maths is a beautiful thing.

If it's done right it is

"... Beauty is the first test: There is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.”-- G. H. Hardy

If you Google beautiful formula you find:

Euler's identity 

From wikipedia:

After proving Euler's identity during a lecture, Benjamin Peirce, a noted American 19th century philosopher/mathematician and a professor at Harvard University, stated that "It is absolutely paradoxical; we cannot understand it, and we don't know what it means, but we have proved it, and therefore we know it must be the truth."

so why didn't he just say еⁱ ∏ = -1 and save a bit of ink?

[Tal]

...
Maths is a beautiful thing.

If it's done right it is

"... Beauty is the first test: There is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.”-- G. H. Hardy

If you Google beautiful formula you find:

Euler's identity 

From wikipedia:

After proving Euler's identity during a lecture, Benjamin Peirce, a noted American 19th century philosopher/mathematician and a professor at Harvard University, stated that "It is absolutely paradoxical; we cannot understand it, and we don't know what it means, but we have proved it, and therefore we know it must be the truth."

so why didn't he just say еⁱ ∏ = -1 and save a bit of ink?

Work that back for me, please!

Why would e^iπ be the same as e^π?

[tikay]

Wow!

Find of the day.

I just spotted this on a sports website.

They use it to give aerial shots of sports fixtures.

I give you......

COPTERCAM

Click to see full-size image.

[doubleup]

...
Maths is a beautiful thing.

If it's done right it is

"... Beauty is the first test: There is no permanent place in the world for ugly mathematics.”-- G. H. Hardy

If you Google beautiful formula you find:

Euler's identity 

From wikipedia:

After proving Euler's identity during a lecture, Benjamin Peirce, a noted American 19th century philosopher/mathematician and a professor at Harvard University, stated that "It is absolutely paradoxical; we cannot understand it, and we don't know what it means, but we have proved it, and therefore we know it must be the truth."

so why didn't he just say еⁱ ∏ = -1 and save a bit of ink?

Work that back for me, please!

Why would e^iπ be the same as e^π?

forums don't do mathematical notation very well

whatever +1 =0 is the same as whatever = -1?