division by zero is a meaningless operation and it can't be done. the 1=0 thing that snerlin has in his signature is wrong. you can see this page for explanations http://ubmail.ubalt.edu/~harsham/zero/ZERO.HTM mmm... well what are your thoughts?
Basically, division by zero can't happen. It's like a splitting a cookie to 0 people. If you just throw it away, the cookie will still be there. If you keep it, you'll still be giving it to 1 person. There's no possible way to do it. When it's impossible, mathematicians just call it infinite for lack of a better word or a way to deal with it.
Snerlin's formula was flawed there. Mathematically, it's sort of a lesser known rule that whatever is divided by a number cannot equal zero. (A-B) <> 0 (or rather the = thing with the slash, but it ain't on my keyboard)
So, here, I offer my formula on how 1 = 0.
Let's say A=1 and B=0
0(A)=X
0(A)=0
0(B)=Y
0(B)=0
X=Y
0(A)=0(B)
A=B
1=0
It's still division by 0 if you look at it carefully, but it's a much simpler one to understand . Division by 0 should be banned.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Necropixel:
Not sure, but I think it is possible to divide by infinite. You see, when you take a cookie and sacrifice it to um... the essence of the universe which completely absorbs it and divides into an infinite amount of unimaginable beings, you're left without any cookies. Not a single crumb. Or maybe the crumbs get converted into pure energy (e.g. heat, light).
Grazzum:
I personally have no complain only if the things I made up were wrong but everyone thought they were right for 2000 or so years. But this... this could cause real problems every time we look for the true meaning of existence.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
However, how many 0's can you get out of 0?In other words 0/0 = ?
The answer is 1 because there is only 1 0 in 0. Nothing consists of 1 nothing.
The page is wrong about
any number divided by 0 doesn't equal inifinity though. Just pull out a graphing calculator and type into Y=, 8/X.(I chose 8 because the effect on the graph would be more visible this way.
When X=0, it'll say error on the tables because infinity can't really be expressed in numbers. However, if you look at the graph, it'll go straight up to infinty.
Dividing by 0 results in an imaginary result of either the "0/0" or "+ or - infintity".See it just as something that can't be done with real numbers. It can only be done imaginarily. In the end, that website and the "dividing by 0" is only a matter of opinion anyways.
My sig is just for fun.I was originally shown this trick by a friend at school.
Actally, it would be zero, because you get nothing out of nothing, i.e. 0 / 0 = 0. You're mistake is that you're assuming zero acts like all positive numbers where it does not.
......always look on the bright side of life.... dee doo... dee doo dee doo dee doo...
"Say you're hanging from a huge cliff at the top of mt. everest and a guy comes along and says he'll save you, and proceeds to throw religious pamphlets at you while simultaniously giving a sermon." - Dustin G
It is NOT a matter of opinion whether 0/0 = 1 or undefined, our mathematics fall apart if its 1. How many apples does each person get if no apples are shared amoungst no people? The answer is certainly not 1!
"Your thinking Logically Ben_02 not Mathematically."
Here is how I see it. Math is divided (pun not intended) into two realms: The physical realm and the mental realm. We use many math concepts in the mental realm to help us solve problems. They are useful tools but some of them don't exist in the physical realm. For example, decimals and negative numbers don't actually exist in the physical realm. That is to say, they don't exist in real life.
Ben_02 is explaining why you can't divide by zero in the physical realm, and he is correct. Debating whether you can divide by zero in the mental realm is pointless. It is like debating what the word "cloud" means. If you want it to equal infinity, then it equals infinity. If you don't want it to equal infinity then it does not. Each person can believe whatever he wants in the mental realm.
"Someone got too much time to discuss irrelevant mathematical questions only mathematicians can/should solve."
This is not a math question. It is a philosophical one. A mathematician can use formulas to try and prove his point, but in the end, he is arguing about the mental realm, and simply can't tell other people what happens when you divide by zero in the mental realm. It is relative what happens.
I hope I explained this clearly.
99 percent chance that the above post is 100 percent correct.
"If Darl McBride was in charge, he'd probably make marriage unconstitutional too, since clearly it de-emphasizes the commercial nature of normal human interaction, and probably is a major impediment to the commercial growth of prostitution."
-- Linus Torvalds, December 5th 2003.
(Darl McBride is CEO of The SCO Group)
this place sucks but don't tell anyone, it's our little secret, ok?
I did further maths, so I can say with some authority that division by 0 is considered impossible. Then again there are various mathematical methods that rely on you doing exactly that and somehow make it legitimate. And yes, you can effectively divide by infinity or differentiation (and I don't mean telling a good game from a bad game, I mean calculus) would not be possible. And also, just to add to the list of famous stuff that's wrong, most of the Newtonian physics that you're taught in school is wrong. But don't write that in your exam.
Why the hell am I on the computer at 1 in the morning? No, don't answer.
Yes it is philosofical but there is an answer (sort of). From Calculus I learnt the "limit" as x goes to 0 for 1/x (or x=0) is either positive or negative infinity depending on whether you approach from the positive or the negative side... Of course inifinity is philosophy check out zeno's paradox, that is always fun to ponder. Other items connected with infinity are God, whose wisdom, goodness and other positive attributes are considered infinite and Eternity, times version of infinity. For instance as you approach the speed of light you lifetime would approach eternity (to an outside stationary observer) but still according you only 50 or so years would pass and then... The end, infinity and zero are only two of several important numbers you will learn about in mathmatics but their implifications strike the heart of philosophy.
Anonymous
I still disagree with the x/0 = infinity thing. I mean, if you divide something by infinity, do you get 0? Of course not, you get something technically above 0, but never actually touching the 0 line.
And yeah, technically, it's impossible to divide something by 0. Dividing by 0 is like destroying energy. The only way to do so would be to send it into a 5th dimension (assuming the 4th is time).
Therefore, if any of you have read that thingy I wrote about magic being a transdimensional form of energy... division by 0 (or infinity) can only be done with the help of magic.
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.
Actually, if you divide 0 by infinity, you'll get 0.
I do have proof that X/0 (assuming X<>0) = infinity.
On a graphing calculator, type in Y=(any value here)/X.
Look at the graph. If the (any value here) is positive, when X =0, it'll go directly down forever into -infinity and then warp to +infinity. If (any value here) is negative, it's the other way around.
It's called an asymptote. It will never equal anything at X=0.
If you divide 0 by ANY NUMBER, you'll get nothing because you had nothing to start with. If you divide any non-zero number by 0, you're trying to turn something into nothing (see Muz's point).
Assault Andy Administrator
I make other people create vaporware
Registered 29/07/2002
Points 5686
1st May, 2004 at 08:07:53 -
I know It's too late for this but - quote " You see, when you take a cookie and sacrifice it to um... the essence of the universe which completely absorbs it and divides into an infinite amount of unimaginable beings, you are left with no cookies" /quote.
"Say you're hanging from a huge cliff at the top of mt. everest and a guy comes along and says he'll save you, and proceeds to throw religious pamphlets at you while simultaniously giving a sermon." - Dustin G
Giving math examples with real life things doesn't always seem to work. Few examples:
=========================
There is no such thing as having -7 cookies.
Teacher:"If I lay five eggs on the table and you lay two eggs next to them, how many eggs do you have?"
Kid:"Still five eggs, because I can't lay any eggs"
If there is one cookie and there is 1/2 people which want a cookie, they get nothing and still one cookie remains, because there's 50% chance that the head is with the halved dude instead of the other half, and even if the head is on that halved dude I don't think he can eat it. Ever seen a halved dude eating a cookie?
=========================
Err I think you don't see my point. Anyway it's safe to divide by zero in MMF because that simply returns zero. It's actually not allowed but returning ERROR gives a mixed strings/numbers error leaving another error which can't be displayed and returns another ERROR which gives you an INFINITE loop. Until the program crashes.
Conclusion: Division by zero is infinity and there's nothing you can do about it.
wow this turned out to be a very long string of posts didn't it?
i like Mr Coffee's point
you never really know whether it has a value or not, its left up to what you want it to be in your mind, this whole thing is just a long line of opinions really
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