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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Fun with Number Theory: Guessing Your Age

  1. Take the last digit of your age, multiply it by 2, then for every decade you've lived add 1 to it. Color this result Blue in your mind
  2. Think of your favorite digit, any digit at all, multiply it by 11.
  3. Add the last digit of your age to the previous result.
  4. For every decade you've lived subtract 1 from the previous result. This is your Red number.
Alright, now tell me your Blue and Red numbers and I will guess your age!
Blue Number:
Red Number:
age:

© 2008 by Thoreaulylazy. All Rights Reserved.


Spoilers:



Monday, March 10, 2008

astrology in the modern world

Below is my comment left on a Slashdot article regarding astrology. I was replying another poster who wrote something along the lines of "astrology is 100% wrong."
I think you meant to say astrology is 50% wrong, because if it were 100% wrong, it would have perfect anti-correlation (akin to scoring a perfect zero on a T/F test, and is just as difficult as scoring a perfect 100). If astrology is 50% wrong, it therefore is 50% right, and depending on the brain chemistry of the person, happy memories may get weighted more than unhappy memories, and therefore the weighted average of astrology working can be significantly higher than 50% - assuming a person who adheres to astrology derives happiness from when it is correct. In fact, for such a person whose happy memories are weighted more than unhappy memories, any catalyst for increased variance will lead to a happier life, including a coin-toss on whether to drive or walk to work. If astrology is a method to higher variance in the day to day experiences of its adherents, then so be it, it results in a happier life among those humans who benefit from high variance. Conversely, for those whose brain chemistry weights unhappy memories more than happy memories, lowered variance in day to day experience is the best method for maximizing happiness. The world needs both people, those who enjoy variance and are willing to eat a mysterious berry, be it a sweet, tasty berry or a bitter, sour berry, and those who hate variance and will only eat the safe, known berry. The risk-takers help society learn about new, tasty berries, and the risk-averse help society continue the species in case the berries were poisonous after all. Astrology is merely a shrub blooming random berries, half of which are sweet (+1 correlation), half of which are bitter (-1 correlation).

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Re: Oscar's

Below is my comment left for a Time.com article about Barrack Hussein Obama and the tale of Gaydolph Titler's unsucessful 1940s presidential bid retold at the Oscar's by Jon Stewart:
As an octogenarian, I remember vividly when I was at the voting poll having to decide whether to vote for Gaydolph Titler or not. I recalled the numerous positions Titler had held and while I agreed on his stance on nearly every issue, when it came down to pulling the lever and casting my vote, I just couldn't in good faith vote for Titler. It was a shallow decision which I have regretted to this day. Now in my ripe old age, I worry far less what others may think of me, and this time around I shall cast my vote for Barrack Hussein Obama with my chin held high, or at least as high as my Osteoporosis permits me.