Weekend fun 61, Math jokes

A lazy Sunday, back to some math humor :-)

For non-Filipino readers, the last equation, right hand side means sob.
An engineer-economist friend commented that "pilit ang humor" because of the x = gina.
hehe, true, it was "coerced" to produce some funny conclusion. Just for fun.

Below, scattered memes and equations I  got  from  the  web. Witty and funny, like the infinity vs. 5, drink and derive.

And the obtuse triangle, the  square of 3 and cube of 3. A pi has an endless decimal, so very witty to say to get its last 4 digits.

More.

Election is coming, there should be part 2 of Political jokes soon.
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See also:
Weekend fun 17: Political jokes, May 15, 2011
Weekend fun 22: Functions and Equations, September 17, 2011
Weekend fun 23: Economist Jokes, September 24, 2011
Weekend Fun 27: Physics Jokes, January 21, 2012

Weekend Fun 58: Mugabe Falls, February 08, 2015 

Weekend Fun 59, Laglag bala extortion at PH airports, November 06, 2015

Weekend Fun 60, Equality vs. equity, sameness vs. fairness, justice vs. laziness, January 30, 2016

Math, Number Theory and Philippine Media

I have a good friend, a true blue academic scientist currently teaching at UP Diliman. He got his BS Math also from UP Diliman in the 80s, he did not graduate on time though because he was an activist. One time, he was shot by the police in one of the anti-Marcos rallies. If he was not athletic – he was a marathoner too, finished several 42K runs then – he should have died that day as the bullet pierced a number of his vital internal organs. His name is Dr. Fidel R. Nemenzo.

Fidel toned down his involvement in student activism and pursued his real love – Math. He got his PhD Math from Sophia University I think, in Japan, specializing in number theory. When he came back to the Philippines, he was the only person here who has that specialization. I do not know now. Fidel teaches at the UP Math Department, Diliman campus.

Last week, he got a very prestigious and coveted award for most science researchers, the Achievement Award (for Mathematics) given by the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP), DOST. The event was held at the Manila Hotel. Most awardees in the past were from the applied sciences/math, doing research that is immediately applicable to problems of the nation. So Fidel felt good that his work as a pure theorist, sometimes referred to as “useless, far out” work is being recognized.

Portion of the plaque says,

For his significant researches in mathematics published in high impact journals, numerous citations of his scholarly work, mentorship, and contribution to mathematics education and development; 

for pioneering the research on algebraic number theory, theory of elliptical curves, and applications to algebraic coding theory in the country, and

for elevating the status of Philippine mathematics through his engagements as visiting professor and researcher in prestigious institutions, speaker in various conferences, and election as President of the Mathematics Society and the South East Asian Mathematical Society – positions that he has served with distinction…

Congrats Fidel.

There should be a few  other Filipino researchers and academics in the basic science and math field, whose work are more appreciated abroad than here.  Big brains who get published in prestigious journals but never land in the front page of the Inquirer and other mainstream media.

In contrast, bar exam topnotchers and PMA top 10 graduates, even PNPA top 10 graduates – their names and faces -- always land in the front page of these big local media every year, no exception. do. Which speaks of the shallowness of PH media. Much, much brighter Filipino minds who come back with a PhD in molecular biology or PhD in particle physics, computer algebra, etc. never make it to the front page. Maybe in small inside pages, if ever.

Which speaks of the shallowness of the mainstream media, and even among civil society organizations (CSOs). Too much focus on lawyers and those who wield guns and bombs. 

See also previous blog posts here that featured Fidel:

An ever-expanding universe, June 25, 2010 
Pilipinas Forum 14: Math, Infinity and Limit, October 04, 2011 
Pilipinas Forum 20: Turbulence, Chaos Theory and the Stockmarket, November 13, 2011

Pilipinas Forum 14: Math, Infinity and Limit

Here is another mind-twisting thread in pilipinasforum yahoogroups made in early December 2001. There was no political discourse here. And that's my point in posting these exchanges in this blog: We need little or no politics (and government) if we wish to expand our individual imagination and knowledge of math, logic and their applications. So, enjoy the 10-pages long exchanges on the subject.

Related articles in this blog are (1) An ever-expanding universe, June 25, 2011. It's about a lecture by an American cosmologist in UP about the "Accelerated History of the Universe". Also, (2) Pilipinas Forum 12: Origin of Zero, Nothingness, Big Bang..., September 25, 2011
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I was able to meet an old friend and a new friend - both Math professors in UP. My old friend, Fidel Nemenzo got his PhD in Sophia U. in Japan, and his specialization is "number theory", reputedly the purest of all math subjects.

Fidel's friend, Ernie, is really fantastic, academically i.e.: Monbusho scholar (like Fidel), finished MS and PhD Math in 5 years with "A" grades equivalent. At Sohia U, he was among the "wonder kids" by solving difficult math problems whle his Japanese classmates could only shake their heads. Undergrad, he finished BS Math in UP - Summa cum laude, in 3 years! High school, he came from Phil. Science HS; elem. he came from an obscure elem. school in an obscure town in Iloilo province. They're so poor that their house has no floor, that PSHS has to pay for his bus to Iloilo, his plane fare to manila. Yet this guy has no self-pity, nor hatred of the rich. He doesn't even see himself joining the corporate world, just a plain academic for the rest of his career. At 27, he's among the youngest professors in UP Math dept.

Fidel is moving to his friend's house, that of Mark Encarnacion, who took a temporary leave from UP for some stints in the US. Mark is another interesting kid. He got a PhD in "Computer Algebra" (!) from an Austrian university. The last time I talked to Mark in UP, about 4 years ago, he said he's the "only person in this country" who has that degree. Mark's father is UPSE's long-time dean, our dean that time, Dr. Jose Encarnacion. The Dean passed away about 3 years ago; his major works are often published in foreign academic journals, enough to be nominated for a possible Nobel prize in Economics.

OK, why am I sharing this? To show that there are such wonderful people in this country but our media and political and business leaders don't seem to notice. Every year we know who are the topnotchers in the bar exams, who are the valedictorians and salutatorians of the PMA, courtesy of the front page stories in our broadsheets and tabloids. But never has it occurred as far as I can remember, that Phil. broadsheets have given front page treatment to returning Filipino scientist or engineer or mathematician with distinguished PhD degree or astonishing research abroad. Which reflects the values and biases of Philippine media: future Filipino politicians and generals are hoorraayy! Future Filipino Einsteins are nobodies.

Of course I hope I'm wrong in this impression.

-- Nonoy Oplas

Inspired by Nonoy's post a few days back on our very own mathematicians in PilipinasForum, I decided to pick up a book, for leisurely reading, entitled, "A Tour of the Calculus" by David Berlinski. I wanted to be reminded as to why I fell in love with Math at one time in my life...

Math & life... the math of life...

From the book, "Some things were Greek to the Greeks. In the fifth century B.C., Zeno the Eleatic argued that a man could never cross a room to bump his nose into the wall...in order to reach the wall he would have first to cross half the room and then half the remaining distance again, and then half the distance that yet remains...this process...can always be continued and can never be ended..."

In the elevator, I always bump into the chief of another investment bank whose offices are in the same building as ours. He once asked me, "Gina, when do you think we can see the light at the end of the tunnel? You know, that one which is not from another train?" I answered, "Tomorrow!". Everytime I see him, we would look and smile at each other and we would, in perfect duet (seemingly practiced), say, "Tomorrow!"

In another instance, an analyst queried me, "Have we reached the bottom yet? How low can the market get?" Armed with calculus, I said, "We can never reach the bottom. The bottom will be forever unknown."

"...The plain fact is that we are capable of compressing those infinite steps..." and actually bump our noses into the wall. The truth is, for some businesses in the country today, tomorrow may not come. And I, a Trekkie, will uncharacteristically pass, on this voyage of discovery to the bottom of the Philippine markets. So much for infinity and continuity and the harsh concept of the limit.*

In case you have not noticed yet :-), this post has nothing to do with serious Math. I am just having fun with the concepts. May I end with this:

"The integral enables you
To do what you need not do. [ :-) ]
The theorem that will make this plain
Is one designed to spare you pain..."

- Mathematicians' Doggerel (quoted from the same book; the smiley, mine)

-- Gina L.

Twitter notes, June 2011 (b)

Here are my tweets, second half of June 2011. Tweets in the first half of the month is here.

Montberte Steve Cushing by Noysky
I find it ironic that the Alzheimer's Association sponsored an event called "A Night To Remember". #stevec

MyMathCloud My Mathematics Cloud by Noysky
Stop "friending" me: Twitter is for people I like but don't know. Facebook is for people I know but don't like.

Montberte Steve Cushing by Noysky
Atheists don't solve exponential equations because they don't believe in higher powers.

@philoquotes "A home w/o bks is a body without soul" - true before. Now, bks & mags are available online, little need for bookshelves :-)

Jimparedes Jim by Noysky
A hospital in Valenzuela city is flooded INSIDE.. Terrible. Doctors ride wheelchairs to move about or go to second floor.

JokesForFree JokesCentral by Noysky
JUAN:Dok, bakit TRIPLE ang singil nyo eh 1 ngipin lang ang ipinabunot ko? DENTISTA:Paano sa lakas ng sigaw mo, natakot yung 2 pang pasyente!

philo_quotes Philosophers quotes by Noysky
Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. ~ Sartre http://bit.ly/philq

Fr Mymathcloud: Algebraic symbols are used when you do not know what you are talking about... Polar coordinates aren't just arctic fashions.

Another heavy flooding in Metro Manila for almost 4 hours now. Reminder of global cooling upon us, bit.ly/ilVzYk

My brief stint as one of the tv comedians of Sic O'Clock News, a political satire in the late 80s, bit.ly/lBAAHt :-)

If man makes himself a worm he must not complain when trodden on... It's not God's will that we be happy, we shd make ourselves happy - Kant

Jimparedes Jim by Noysky
Di baling pangit. May refund. ha ha ha Dating site un-invites 30,000 'ugly' members, refunds $112K http://bit.ly/kkvbYq

From Mymathcloud: I understand mathematics, I just can't do proofs… Life is complex: it has both real and imaginary components.

Tomorrow (24 June) Metro Manila's education sector will turn communist -- classless :-)

The energy of the mind is the essence of life... The end of labor is to gain leisure. ~ Aristotle

From Mymathcloud: Without geometry life is pointless.... The only angle from which to approach a problem is the TRY-Angle.

@bayanmo Makati City govt personnel are busy with towing cars, apprehending number coding cars, etc. but lazy in cleaning clogged drainage

@dost_pagasa Why does PAGASA give local names to typhoons with int'l names already? 2 names can cause confusion when we check past typhoons

From Mymathcloud: Life is too short for long division... A circle is a round straight line with a hole in the middle.

@gpph Bad weather, more rains, more flooding, more cooling, is also caused by "man-made-warming" fiction, bit.ly/ilVzYk

Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty... The comic & d tragic lie inseparably close, like light and shadow. - Socrates

Fr Mymathcloud: Old mathematicians never die; they just get disarrayed.... or they just go off on a tangent... or they just become angles.

@tonylavs Another case of global cooling in heavy Phil. flooding and the man-made warming train keeps running, bit.ly/ilVzYk

From Mymathcloud: Old mathematicians never die; their systems just become unsolvable.... and their second derivative goes to zero

philoquotes PhiloQuotes by Noysky
Reverie is when ideas float in our mind without reflection or regard of the understanding. ~ John Locke

philoquotes PhiloQuotes by Noysky
Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. ~ Marcus Aurelius http://bit.ly/philq

philoquotes PhiloQuotes by Noysky
Those who are believed to be most abject and humble are usually most ambitious and envious. ~ Spinoza http://bit.ly/philq

MyMathCloud My Mathematics Cloud by Noysky
Everyone knows what a curve is, until he has studied enough mathematics to become confused by possible exceptions

MyMathCloud My Mathematics Cloud by Noysky
The notion of infinity is our greatest friend; it is also the greatest enemy of our peace of mind. James Pierpont

There are three kinds of people in the world; those who can count and those who can't... Decimals have a point. - Mymathcloud

Time discovers truth.... Life, if well lived, is long enough.... The deferring of anger is the best antidote to anger. - Seneca

The superior man is modest in his speech but exceeds in his actions... An oppressive govt. is more to be feared than a tiger. - Confucius

Old mathematicians never die; they just disintegrate... or they just lose their identities... or they just tend to infinity. - Mymathcloud

Those believed to be most abject & humble are usually most ambitious & envious.... Fear cannot be w/out hope nor hope w/o fear. - Spinoza

The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal... There was never a genius without a tincture of madness. - Aristotle

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it anywhere, analyzing with wrong diagnosis, and prescribing with troublesome solutions

Six out of five people in the world are lousy with fractions.... Fractions and decimals have a point.

Son: Papa, whats d least common denomination (LCD) bet 3/4 and 5/6? Papa: They haven't found it yet? They asked that question many yrs ago.

What happens to a plant when you put it in a math classroom? It develops a square root. Or a cube root.

Will minus intellect constitutes vulgarity.... Honor has not to be won; it must only not be lost. - Schopenhauer

philo_quotes Philosophers quotes by Noysky
The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large. ~ Confucius

Montberte Steve Cushing by Noysky
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. Winston Churchill

philo_quotes Philosophers quotes by Noysky
When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income. ~ Plato http://bit.ly/philq

@Karen_DaviLa When Saudi firms are forced to hire locals first, then they will become less competitive as they'll be forced to pay more

@philoquotes "The state is a creation of nature", I disagree. The state and its endless expansion, is human creation.

C3Heditor C3H Editor by Noysky
Since 1990, IPCC's Climate Predictions Have Been Wrong - Billions Wasted On Worthless Fortunetelling: Read here,...http://bit.ly/k5YYCI

What is ignorance and apathy? I don't know and I don't care.

Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one.. Of all strategems, to know when to quit is the best.- Chinese proverb

Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them... Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil. ~ Aristotle

The cheapest and most effective way to remove warts, big moles, wrinkles in one's face and skin, zero side effect, is Adobe Photoshop.

The golden rule: those who have the gold make the rules. Money is relative: more money, more relatives :-)

AncientProverbs Motivational Quotes by Noysky
Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them. -Aristotle

2 US missile destroyers + Phil. WW2 ships to patrol Sulu Sea. To guard Exxon Mobil exploration ships in the area?


Tell me why, I don't like Mondays -- Bob Geldoff. Tell me why, I don't like more aid -- me

I heard it was you, talking 'bout the world where all is free, it just couldn't be, and only a food would say that. -- Steely Dan

What orators lack in depth they make up for in length... Laws undertake to punish only overt acts. -- Montesquieu

Statistics means never having to say you're certain... Parallel lines actually do meet, but they are very discrete. - Mymathcloud

CONFERENCE: The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present... Without geometry life is pointless. - Mymathcloud

DavidRoads Motivational Quotes by Noysky
sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart. -winnie the pooh

Come what may, all bad fortune is to be conquered by endurance... Trust not to much to appearances. -- Virgil

GreatestQuotes Great Minds Quotes by Noysky
"Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes." - Oscar Wilde

Rain songs: Meteor rain-F4. Purple rain-Prince. November rain-GNR. Let it rain-Razorback. Rain song-Imago. Rudolf d red nose RAINdeer :-)

Abswelto yang Michael Ray Aquino. Aquino eh.. .US to boost Philippine intelligence. Bobo daw kasi ng Pinoy. - Dong Abay

PCSO-Perang Corrupt Sugalan Onsehan... China to invade Phils? Tagal na kaya me Chinatown... Kumbaga sa siopao, gobyerno ay bola2 - Dong Abay

The people I distrust most are those who want to improve our lives but have only one course of action. - Frank Herbert

philo_quotes Philosophers quotes by Noysky
What gift has providence bestowed on man that is so dear to him as his children? ~ Cicero

@east_asia_forum Urbanization is a reality for all countries. People congregate in crowded cities bec. jobs, infra, utilities are plentiful

@charievilla @ABSCBNNews New species discovered in Phils., meaning claims of "diminishing species" is a scam, like man-made warming scam.

ChrisKitze Chris Kitze by Noysky
US Could Be Forced To Sell Sovereign Assets To China To Pay Off Over $100 Trillion In National Debt | Before It's Newshttp://ow.ly/5sAeA

One person's constant is another person's variable, - Susan Gerhart... Calculus has its limits. - mymathcloud

People who can't argue on the issue tend to attack the proponent of an issue. Shoot d messenger, not the message -- typical act by cowards.

If you're weak on facts, pound on the law. If you're weak on law, pound on facts. If you're weak on both law and facts, pound on the table.

@Karen_DaviLa Liberalism as political philosophy of the LP was not highlighted as populism, even near-socialistic policies, dominated.