zzless

9 ms·

1.
by zzless 2mo ago
The choice of pi as a number whose sequence of digits is random is a bit of a weak point of the argument in the post. It is not even known whether every digit 0-9 appears infinitely many times in pi (a weak version of the normal number conj
2.
by zzless 2mo ago
His definition of Kolmogorov complexity is a bit loose. The rigorous definition uses Turing machines (or Minsky, or Post, or some sort of lambda expression, etc.) so the size is something specific. Different versions of complexity defined t
3.
by zzless 6mo ago
With all due respect, no, it isn't. His drivel against set theory shows that he didn't even read the basic axiomatic set theory texts. In one of his papers, he is ranting against the axiom of infinity saying that 'there exist
4.
by zzless 8mo ago
I have a couple of EB6s to show to my students but ever since scientific calculators were allowed in written tests, I have never used one myself. Law of cosines is good enough for wind triangles :). Worked for a commercial test as well as t
5.
by zzless 8mo ago
I am not sure why you are being downvoted but you are absolutely right: it is even in the name (WD stands for 'Water Displacement'). My reaction to this article was a huge: 'why?'. WD-40 is at best mediocre at everything
6.
by zzless 9mo ago
>Also, possessive pronouns are exactly like in English, concording in gender with the owner, not the object. This is only true in third person singular. For example, in first person singular: 'моя чашка' (my cup, 'cup&#x27
7.
by zzless 10mo ago
Army PIT? Ah, this is not a good name...
8.
by zzless 1y ago
This is a fine opinion, here is another one. Calling everyone who uses LaTeX cultists is a bit insulting. I do not particularly like LaTeX and use it only when a journal requires it in which case it is pretty much painless as I simply follo
9.
by zzless 1y ago
With all due respect to your perspective on TeX, isn't it the whole point? There are weaknesses in TeX (like using $ for both beginning and ending the math mode) but they are quite minor. Quirkiness is not a weakness but being a standa
10.
by zzless 1y ago
On the other hand here is a Long-EZ that gets 40 mpg flying at over 250 mph (so not quite 250 knots but still). The actual savings will be higher since one can fly in a straight line most of the time. It also avoids congestion and ... is si
11.
by zzless 1y ago
I was wandering the same thing. Quite often the insurance sets a much higher standard than what is legal. I had a lot of fun flying a local police helicopter as a commercial helicopter pilot with the police pilot (who only had a private cer
12.
by zzless 2y ago
In my experience a more appropriate title for this book would be: 'Linear algebra done ok if this is your second time doing it'. I have seen way too many students who, after having taken a course that used this textbook, could not
13.
by zzless 2y ago
I have the same sentiment about TeX. The fact that the language has been stable for over 30 years is incredibly important to me. I also feel like I can do anything in TeX: I have written a C compiler in TeX as an academic exercise so I cann
14.
by zzless 2y ago
I am also doubting his claim that he had several students land without assistance on the first try. I have had a few students land with minimal assistance on the first try but I am quite sure that the airplane would be damaged had I refrain
15.
by zzless 3y ago
I understand this is a (good) attempt at humor but this might be an interesting idea to see if Bluetooth leaks from inside the microwave oven (or from the outside in). Of course, the microwave has to stay off, naturally :)
16.
by zzless 3y ago
True, though this may mean many things. The only part of CFR 14 that mentions that a certificate is required for operating aircraft is CFR 14 61.3 which states that an unexpired certificate is required to `exercise the privileges' of
17.
by zzless 3y ago
As I mentioned above it is not that the FAA waves their requirements as much as the FAA does not have jurisdiction over such operations (under appropriate circumctances).
18.
by zzless 3y ago
Here is a quote from AC No: 00-1.1A (Public Aircraft Operations): What Oversight of PAO Does the FAA Have? The FAA has limited oversight of PAO, though such operations must continue to comply with the regulations applicable to all aircraft
19.
by zzless 3y ago
Police in the US do not have to have a license to operate anything, including aircraft. In this case, insurance requirements take over though. They may have a legal right to fly but no insurance company would approve operation by anyone but
20.
by zzless 3y ago
This is indeed a nice idea, unfortunately the university (mine) gets kick backs from the book store. At the beginning of every semester every faculty gets an email asking us to 'encourage' students to buy their materials at the bo
21.
by zzless 3y ago
Just wanted to say thanks as well. I host a private Jitsi server for my online teaching. It took a bit of effort to set up but worked well for me since.
22.
by zzless 4y ago
From what I have seen in TeXmacs documentation, they have implemented pretty much every feature of TeX's linebreaking algorithm and more (microtypography, global page breaking, etc) so my claim above was not to say that the documents T
23.
by zzless 4y ago
As a fellow mathematician you may then appreciate the fact that local and global maxima may differ dramatically which pretty much precludes true WYSIWYG (not just in TeX) in that you have to settle for one of the two: visual output with sub
24.
by zzless 4y ago
It tells me that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, i.e. what one may perceive as ugliness, countless others will view as beauty or, at least functionality. I personally think that the ugliest design in existence is Python but I admit m
25.
by zzless 4y ago
> This would be impossible unless the reader have my LaTeX source code and compile it themselves. But it is super simple for epub, or html webpage (by modifying the css). Well ..., wouldn't the html page be the source code in this c
26.
by zzless 4y ago
I have heard HTML/CSS mentioned as an alternative and I pray every day this time will never come. Even taking all the complaints leveled at LaTeX at face value, using HTML/CSS looks like pure hell to me. Allow me to elaborate. 1.
27.
by zzless 4y ago
The way I see it, this only proves my point. As you write: '...None of them have become the standard...' and this is at the center of the argument. TeX may not be ideal but it strikes the correct balance to become and stay standar
28.
by zzless 4y ago
What a great summary! Unfortunately, many discussions of TeX vs alternatives are somewhat thin on details and are instead trading on emotions. As you mentioned in your comment, the choices made by Knuth are far from random. He even made it
29.
by zzless 4y ago
TeXmacs is a great project, no doubt, but you have mentioned WYSIWYG as one of the advantages. This is the main reason I do not use TeXmacs to create documents (I do use it to create online lectures). You may like or dislike LaTeX/TeX
30.
by zzless 4y ago
You may think so but this would be going against the facts. In reality, there are two major goals each US university has: 1. attracting funds (in the form of tuition, grants, etc) 2. improving educational statistics for the state The second

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