How to write a check to piss off the receiver...

[KC2IFR]

5884

[KG4NEL]

Two pie, lulz.

[ab1ga]

An old joke, and a botched retelling at that.

a. Not e^(2*pi), but e^(i*pi), which evaluates to -1.
b. Add that to the sum of the series, and you get zero. That is, if the series starts at one and not zero, it isn't clear.
c. That leaves 0.002, which would be the check writer's "two cents" if the decimal point were in the right place. But it isn't.

:)

[ki4itv]

Hell, I just give him props for being smart enough to realize he didn't have to carry 500lbs of penny's and dump 'em on the counter.
-life was hard back in the day. Wut with all the snow, hills, and heavy pennies.

[kb2vxa]

I can just see it now.

[N7YA]

An old joke, and a botched retelling at that.

a. Not e^(2*pi), but e^(i*pi), which evaluates to -1.
b. Add that to the sum of the series, and you get zero. That is, if the series starts at one and not zero, it isn't clear.
c. That leaves 0.002, which would be the check writer's "two cents" if the decimal point were in the right place. But it isn't.

:)

Oh hell, its close enough for Facebook!

[n2ize]

An old joke, and a botched retelling at that.

a. Not e^(2*pi), but e^(i*pi), which evaluates to -1.
b. Add that to the sum of the series, and you get zero. That is, if the series starts at one and not zero, it isn't clear.
c. That leaves 0.002, which would be the check writer's "two cents" if the decimal point were in the right place. But it isn't.

:)

yeah, but most people don't know any of that...

[N7YA]

Im not going to lie, i have no clue what any of it means.

[n2ize]

Im not going to lie, i have no clue what any of it means.

Better off not knowing. It's demonic. :evil::twisted:

[ab1ga]

Im not going to lie, i have no clue what any of it means.

It's actually quite simple:

The product of a transcendental number with an imaginary number is used to raise the power of another transcendental number. That quantity, when combined with the distance one would travel after an infinite number of ever-smaller steps, yields precisely : NOTHING!

Now that wasn't so bad, was it?

:)

[N8YX]

Better off not knowing. It's demonic. :evil::twisted:

A sci-fi short story - "Convergent Series" - seems to imply exactly that, albeit with a mathematical twist.

[N7YA]

It's actually quite simple:

The product of a transcendental number with an imaginary number is used to raise the power of another transcendental number. That quantity, when combined with the distance one would travel after an infinite number of ever-smaller steps, yields precisely : NOTHING!

Now that wasn't so bad, was it?

:)

I suppose not....i would have just used the website to pay.

[ki4itv]

Im not going to lie, i have no clue what any of it means.

I'm pretty sure that's why I don't work for NASA. <grabs guitar>

[NQ6U]

I'm pretty sure that's why I don't work for NASA. <grabs guitar>

Or me. <grabs steering wheel>

[NY3V]

Years ago, when I was in the Navy in Va Beach, I wrote a check to the power company as: Very Expensive Power Company (VEPCO). They weren't pleased and refused to cash it.

I guess I was already developing subversive tendencies against monopolies. :irked:

[K7SGJ]

Or me. <grabs steering wheel>

Or me. <grabs wife's chest>

[n2ize]

I suppose not....i would have just used the website to pay.

Some background on why these expressions equal 1 and -1.

The expression ei(pi) is called "Euhler's identity and is stated as ei(pi) + 1 = 0 where pi = the number 3.1415... usually represented by the Greek letter, but I write pi here because I don;t know how to make a Greek letter on this board. :-D So moving the 1 to the right hand side it is clear that from the identity that ei(pi) = -1.

"i" by the way is the square root of -1 (an imaginary number).

The expression all the way on the right hand side with the thing that looks like a sideways letter M is a summation. It can be expanded and written as

(*) S = (1/2) + (1/22) + (1/23) + ... (on to infinity) where S is the sum of all these infinite terms. This is called a geometric series. Fortunately this infinite sum can be reduced to a very simple expression using a little trick.

Multiply it by 1/2

(**) (1/2)S = (1/22) + (1/23) + (1/24) + ...

Then subtract one from the other

S - (1/2)S = [(1/2) + (1/22) + (1/23) + ...] - [ (1/22) + (1/23) + ...] =

S - (1/2)S = 1/2

Factoring out the S on the left hand side

S(1 - (1/2)) = 1/2

dividing both sides by (1 - (1/2)) gives

S = (1/2)/(1 - (1/2))

which further simplifies to

S = 1/(2-1) = 1

In general for any geometric series

(1/k) + (1/k2) + (1/k3) + ... + (1/kn) + ... = 1/(k-1)

its really that simple and nice because instead of summing up infinite terms we end up with a simple exact expression.

So, as pointed out in earlier posts the exact value of the amount on the check is 0.02 + 1 - 1 = 0.02 = 2 cents.

Unfortunately the person who wrote out the joke screwed it up by putting the decimal point in the wrong place. Unless they actually meant it to read 2 tenths of a cent.

[W1GUH]

The proof is left as an exercise for the interested student!

[n2ize]

The proof is left as an exercise for the interested student!

It's already proved, unless anyone wants to go the extra step and prove

ei(pi) + 1 = 0

Any takers ?

[suddenseer]

Some background on why these expressions equal 1 and -1.

The expression ei(pi) is called "Euhler's identity and is stated as ei(pi) + 1 = 0 where pi = the number 3.1415... usually represented by the Greek letter, but I write pi here because I don;t know how to make a Greek letter on this board. :-D So moving the 1 to the right hand side it is clear that from the identity that ei(pi) = -1.

"i" by the way is the square root of -1 (an imaginary number).

The expression all the way on the right hand side with the thing that looks like a sideways letter M is a summation. It can be expanded and written as

(*) S = (1/2) + (1/22) + (1/23) + ... (on to infinity) where S is the sum of all these infinite terms. This is called a geometric series. Fortunately this infinite sum can be reduced to a very simple expression using a little trick.

Multiply it by 1/2

(**) (1/2)S = (1/22) + (1/23) + (1/24) + ...

Then subtract one from the other

S - (1/2)S = [(1/2) + (1/22) + (1/23) + ...] - [ (1/22) + (1/23) + ...] =

S - (1/2)S = 1/2

Factoring out the S on the left hand side

S(1 - (1/2)) = 1/2

dividing both sides by (1 - (1/2)) gives

S = (1/2)/(1 - (1/2))

which further simplifies to

S = 1/(2-1) = 1

In general for any geometric series

(1/k) + (1/k2) + (1/k3) + ... + (1/kn) + ... = 1/(k-1)

its really that simple and nice because instead of summing up infinite terms we end up with a simple exact expression.

So, as pointed out in earlier posts the exact value of the amount on the check is 0.02 + 1 - 1 = 0.02 = 2 cents.

Unfortunately the person who wrote out the joke screwed it up by putting the decimal point in the wrong place. Unless they actually meant it to read 2 tenths of a cent.He makes it sound easy. i never made it past 200 level math (calculus) therefore, i would have to spend all night on that equation. My instincts told me it was less than $1.00. It is good to have an Island mathematician to keep us all honest.

[N7YA]

Some background on why these expressions equal 1 and -1.

The expression ei(pi) is called "Euhler's identity and is stated as ei(pi) + 1 = 0 where pi = the number 3.1415... usually represented by the Greek letter, but I write pi here because I don;t know how to make a Greek letter on this board. :-D So moving the 1 to the right hand side it is clear that from the identity that ei(pi) = -1.

"i" by the way is the square root of -1 (an imaginary number).

The expression all the way on the right hand side with the thing that looks like a sideways letter M is a summation. It can be expanded and written as

(*) S = (1/2) + (1/22) + (1/23) + ... (on to infinity) where S is the sum of all these infinite terms. This is called a geometric series. Fortunately this infinite sum can be reduced to a very simple expression using a little trick.

Multiply it by 1/2

(**) (1/2)S = (1/22) + (1/23) + (1/24) + ...

Then subtract one from the other

S - (1/2)S = [(1/2) + (1/22) + (1/23) + ...] - [ (1/22) + (1/23) + ...] =

S - (1/2)S = 1/2

Factoring out the S on the left hand side

S(1 - (1/2)) = 1/2

dividing both sides by (1 - (1/2)) gives

S = (1/2)/(1 - (1/2))

which further simplifies to

S = 1/(2-1) = 1

In general for any geometric series

(1/k) + (1/k2) + (1/k3) + ... + (1/kn) + ... = 1/(k-1)

its really that simple and nice because instead of summing up infinite terms we end up with a simple exact expression.

So, as pointed out in earlier posts the exact value of the amount on the check is 0.02 + 1 - 1 = 0.02 = 2 cents.

Unfortunately the person who wrote out the joke screwed it up by putting the decimal point in the wrong place. Unless they actually meant it to read 2 tenths of a cent.


Now you know how i feel when someone brings up the bass guitar. :-D

[KA9MOT]

╥? Alt plus 21Ø

[N7YA]

I really love blueberry 3.14...a la mode!

[ad4mg]

Years ago, when I was in the Navy in Va Beach, I wrote a check to the power company as: Very Expensive Power Company (VEPCO). They weren't pleased and refused to cash it.

I guess I was already developing subversive tendencies against monopolies. :irked:

VEPCO, now affectionately known as "Dominion Virginia Power". They are just learning that cutting trees in the right of ways prevents power outages when the wind blows.

I also do quite a bit of work for DVP. We're putting automated valves on their big #6 oil fired unit in Yorktown after the peak usage season ends in September.

[kb2vxa]

"They are just learning that cutting trees in the right of ways prevents power outages when the wind blows."

They are just learning that cutting trees the right way prevents power outages that blow. There, that's better, they're learning that trees dominate Virginia power... or the lack of it.

[n2ize]

Now you know how i feel when someone brings up the bass guitar. :-D

To tell the truth I find music can be quite daunting (more so than math), even though I can read music and I do play a musical instrument (violin). I look at a complex piece of music and often scratch my head in amazement that someone can actually play it and sound good playing it. Although practice and experience helps a lot. I notice it when i find myself able to play a piece of music which a year or two earlier I couldn't even begin to play.

Math can be daunting as well but I find if I focus on an difficult idea it will eventually kick in and I just "get it" and I am satisfied that I understand it and can use it for something or explain it or teach it to someone else.. With music I can keep practicing and practicing and still not feel entirely satisfied and no matter how good I can play it I always feel that with more practice I can do even better. Music can be quite a challenge.

[n2ize]

VEPCO, now affectionately known as "Dominion Virginia Power". They are just learning that cutting trees in the right of ways prevents power outages when the wind blows.


Very often when power companies cut the budget the first thing that gets axed is the tree trimming program. It is really amazing how well a good tree trimming program pays off. It can prevent a lot of outages and damage.

A few years ago I lucked out here. I had a huge oak tree in front of the house that was dying and which I would have had to pay a good sum of money to cut down myself. Then, as if sent by God, a guy from the power company came by and asked permission to remove it. I guess they felt that if it toppled towards the street it would have taken out the power lines, pole and all. And, considering where the tree was and its size it sure would have. It tok about a year before they came to cut it because there was a lot of red tape and Con Edison was cutting back on tree trimming but then they re-instated the funding and finally they came to remove the tree. They hired "Lewis Tree" to do the job and, what a job it was. They closed the entire street, brought out a cherry picker and a large derrick and they literally cut the tree into sections and used the derrick to hoist the cut sections onto a truck. In no more than a half an hour they had removed the entire huge tree and within a few minutes later had the street reopened and they were ready to leave. And it couldn;t have been done at a better time, a few days later we were hit with a powerful Nor'easter with very high damaging winds.

[NQ6U]

Very often when power companies cut the budget the first thing that gets axed is the tree trimming program.

Yep. San Diego Gas & Electric did exactly that. Then, in 2007, a tree knocked loose a high-voltage wire and started a fire that burned a half-million acres, 1500 homes and killed nine people.

[N7YA]

To tell the truth I find music can be quite daunting (more so than math), even though I can read music and I do play a musical instrument (violin). I look at a complex piece of music and often scratch my head in amazement that someone can actually play it and sound good playing it. Although practice and experience helps a lot. I notice it when i find myself able to play a piece of music which a year or two earlier I couldn't even begin to play.

Math can be daunting as well but I find if I focus on an difficult idea it will eventually kick in and I just "get it" and I am satisfied that I understand it and can use it for something or explain it or teach it to someone else.. With music I can keep practicing and practicing and still not feel entirely satisfied and no matter how good I can play it I always feel that with more practice I can do even better. Music can be quite a challenge.


I liken it to "feeling math".

[W7XF]

I'll take a big slice of fresh strawberry ∏ with lotsa whipped cream, please :)

[ab1ga]

╥? Alt plus 21Ø

That's a box graphics character. I think small pi is Alt plus 227.

73,