# All Questions

1,031,077 questions
487k views

### Visually stunning math concepts which are easy to explain

Since I'm not that good at (as I like to call it) 'die-hard-mathematics', I've always liked concepts like the golden ratio or the dragon curve, which are easy to understand and explain, but are ...
80k views

### Can I use my powers for good? [closed]

I hesitate to ask this question, but I read a lot of the career advice from MathOverflow and math.stackexchange, and I couldn't find anything similar. Four years after the PhD, I am pretty sure that ...
130k views

### How long will it take Marie to saw another board into 3 pieces?

So this is supposed to be really simple, and it's taken from the following picture: Text-only: It took Marie $10$ minutes to saw a board into $2$ pieces. If she works just as fast, how long will ...
85k views

### Is $\frac{\textrm{d}y}{\textrm{d}x}$ not a ratio?

In the book Thomas's Calculus (11th edition) it is mentioned (Section 3.8 pg 225) that the derivative $\frac{\textrm{d}y}{\textrm{d}x}$ is not a ratio. Couldn't it be interpreted as a ratio, because ...
165k views

### How to study math to really understand it and have a healthy lifestyle with free time? [closed]

Here's my problem. I'm studying math and when I really work hard, I think I understand things very good, but that comes at a big cost: in the last few years, I've had practically zero physical ...
48k views

### What was the first bit of mathematics that made you realize that math is beautiful? (For children's book) [closed]

I'm a children's book writer and illustrator, and I want to to create a book for young readers that exposes the beauty of mathematics. I recently read Paul Lockhart's essay "The Mathematician's Lament,...
64k views

### The staircase paradox, or why $\pi\ne4$

What is wrong with this? Is $\pi=4?$
86k views

### Different methods to compute $\sum\limits_{k=1}^\infty \frac{1}{k^2}$ (Basel problem)

As I have heard people did not trust Euler when he first discovered the formula (solution of the Basel problem) $$\zeta(2)=\sum_{k=1}^\infty \frac{1}{k^2}=\frac{\pi^2}{6}.$$ However, Euler was Euler ...
33k views

### A short proof for $\dim(R[T])=\dim(R)+1$?

If $R$ is a commutative ring, it is easy to prove $\dim(R[T]) \geq \dim(R)+1$. For noetherian $R$, we have equality. Every proof I'm aware of uses quite a bit of commutative algebra and non-trivial ...
64k views

### Splitting a sandwich and not feeling deceived

This is a problem that has haunted me for more than a decade. Not all the time - but from time to time, and always on windy or rainy days, it suddenly reappears in my mind, stares at me for half an ...
149k views

### Does Pi contain all possible number combinations?

I came across the following image: Which states: $\pi$ Pi Pi is an infinite, nonrepeating $($sic$)$ decimal - meaning that every possible number combination exists somewhere in pi. ...
106k views

### What's an intuitive way to think about the determinant?

In my linear algebra class, we just talked about determinants. So far I’ve been understanding the material okay, but now I’m very confused. I get that when the determinant is zero, the matrix doesn’t ...
77k views

### Why can you turn clothing right-side-out?

My nephew was folding laundry, and turning the occasional shirt right-side-out. I showed him a "trick" where I turned it right-side-out by pulling the whole thing through a sleeve instead of the ...
34k views

25k views

### A challenge by R. P. Feynman: give counter-intuitive theorems that can be translated into everyday language

The following is a quote from Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman . The question is: are there any interesting theorems that you think would be a good example to tell Richard Feynman, as an answer to ...
28k views

### The length of toilet roll

Fun with Math time. My mom gave me a roll of toilet paper to put it in the bathroom, and looking at it I immediately wondered about this: is it possible, through very simple math, to calculate (with ...
10k views

### Why don't we define “imaginary” numbers for every “impossibility”?

Before the concept of imaginary numbers, the number $i = \sqrt{-1}$ was shown to have no solution among the numbers that we had, so we said $i$ to be a new type of number. How come we don't do the ...
64k views

### 'Obvious' theorems that are actually false

It's one of my real analysis professor's favourite sayings that "being obvious does not imply that it's true". Now, I know a fair few examples of things that are obviously true and that can be proved ...
33k views

### Why does this innovative method of subtraction from a third grader always work?

My daughter is in year 3 and she is now working on subtraction up to 1000. She came up with a way of solving her simple sums that we (her parents) and her teachers can't understand. Here is an ...
63k views

### In Russian roulette, is it best to go first?

Assume that we are playing a game of Russian roulette (6 chambers). Assume that there is no shuffling after the shot is fired. I was wondering if you have an advantage in going first? If so, how big ...
84k views

### Multiple-choice question about the probability of a random answer to itself being correct

I found this math "problem" on the internet, and I'm wondering if it has an answer: Question: If you choose an answer to this question at random, what is the probability that you will be correct? ...
24k views

### Surprising identities / equations

What are some surprising equations / identities that you have seen, which you would not have expected? This could be complex numbers, trigonometric identities, combinatorial results, algebraic ...
44k views

### One question to know if the number is 1, 2 or 3

I've recently heard a riddle, which looks quite simple, but I can't solve it. A girl thinks of a number which is 1, 2, or 3, and a boy then gets to ask just one question about the number. The girl ...
10k views

### Help with a prime number spiral which turns 90 degrees at each prime

I awoke with the following puzzle and I would like to investigate but the answer may require some programming (it may not either). I have asked on the meta site and believe the question to be ...
27k views

### Nice examples of groups which are not obviously groups

I am searching for some groups, where it is not so obvious that they are groups. In the lectures script there are only examples like $\mathbb{Z}$ under addition and other things like that. I don't ...
25k views

### Is '$10$' a magical number or I am missing something?

It's a hilarious witty joke that points out how every base is '$10$' in its base. Like, 2 = 10 (base 2) 8 = 10 (base 8) My question is if whoever invented the ...
I am a big fan of the oldschool games and I once noticed that there is a sort parity associated to one and only one Tetris piece, the $\color{purple}{\text{T}}$ piece. This parity is found with no ...
I've come across statements in the past along the lines of "function $f(x)$ has no closed form integral", which I assume means that there is no combination of the operations: addition/subtraction ...