https://zeta.one/viral-math/

I wrote a (very long) blog post about those viral math problems and am looking for feedback, especially from people who are not convinced that the problem is ambiguous.

It’s about a 30min read so thank you in advance if you really take the time to read it, but I think it’s worth it if you joined such discussions in the past, but I’m probably biased because I wrote it :)

  • kuneho@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    I Looked up doing factorials and n! = n(n – 1) is used interchangeably with n! = n*(n – 1)

    yeah, the way I have been taught is that either you put the multiplication sign there or not, it’s the exact same, there’s absolutely no difference in n(n-1) and n*(n-1). in the end, you treat it like the * sign is there and it’s just matter of convenience you can leave it off.

    • there’s absolutely no difference in n(n-1) and n*(n-1)

      There is - the first is 1 term and the 2nd is 2 terms. Makes a difference if it’s preceded by a division.

      it’s just matter of convenience you can leave it off.

      It’s a matter of how many terms as to whether it’s there or not.