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Quote: Originally Posted by Alex_Dubinsky Maybe it's YOUR absolutism and self-righteous acceptance of "elegant" data points at face value that this joke critiques. It points out that a person of subtle thinking will understand the non-absolutism of even a plain value. (I say this not in direct response to your post, but having encountered many of your posts for some time.) Since you say directly that you're not...

You are correct, DSYoungEsq , we cannot be definitive without cites. It is plausible that md2000 and Topologist are correct, that the joke arises out of the programming community and got cross-pollinated to the math community. I recall first hearing it in the '80s, and having to have it explained. Generally, when jokes have to be explained they are poor jokes, or not aimed at that audience. Whereas if you are used to hearing statements...

Quote: Originally Posted by Topologist This has always been my understanding of the joke. Actually, I heard it as "2 + 2 = 5 for large values of 2 and small values of 5." This gets in both a reference to asymptotics and epsilonics of the sort often done in analysis. (E.g., sin(x) = x for small values of x.) (And yes, of course, part of the joke is that 2 and 5 are not variables.) I told you geek humor was not pretty... I...

I'm always surprised at how many people don't use public libraries. I use them a lot, but I also impulse buy too. If I see an interesting paperback at Walmart or other retailers I'll usually buy it. Amazon is another impulse buy. It's so simple to click and have it at your door in a couple days. Libraries can create interest in an author. It's just one more way the public sees their work.

Quote: Originally Posted by toadspittle The thing people may not realize is how much abuse library books take. They often wear out, and are also sometimes lost or stolen. What this means is that libraries often buy replacement copies of books. Plus, libraries will likely buy multiple copies of popular works, so that more than one patron can check them out at a time. It's hardly Barnes and Noble numbers, but libraries do buy a lot of...

Quote: Originally Posted by Little Nemo The OP seems confused about the vast difference between buying copyrighted works and copying copyrighted works. I'm pretty sure very few copyright holders have ever objected to anyone purchasing their product. But that doesn't prevent dreamers from fantasizing about collecting something every time a product changes hands.

Quote: Originally Posted by Exapno Mapcase 2.3 is not a value of 2. It isn't in pure math, but it is in what we used to call "apple math". Furthermore, "2", "2.0", "2.00", "2.000", etc. , are all different values, and 1/0 is illegal, or ∞, or ±∞, depending on what is most useful. Applied math is as different from pure math as...

Quote: Originally Posted by md2000 Good grief. You guys are arguing in circles. Read my previous post! The "for sufficiently large values of..." is a standard phrase in math theory, to allow you to approximate, by dropping all terms except the one with the largest exponent. For sufficiently large values of a variable (when we get into the billions, say) all other terms are so small as to be irelevant. "X^2 = X^2+1...

Quote: Originally Posted by ultrafilter Is 2 a variable? That, of course, is the joke. Now, speaking as Moderator: Alex_Dubinsky , personal insults are not permitted in this forum. Surely we can discuss a math joke without the need for words like "self-righteous" and "absolutism"? I have issued an Official Warning for this. Expano : there's no need to taunt him about it? (Just a friendly comment from...

Quote: Originally Posted by penitentserf I disagree with the answer listed here: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/...ge-values-of-2 I propose the following alternative answer: So when, "2" is the set {2.0 <= R < 3.0}, then for large values of "2" it's double is equal to the set "5". That is to say, there exists a subset of {2.0 <= R < 3.0} that, when...