http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ApipziS.8Ju6yI1hwFTLWEnsy6IX?qid=20070722014728AAK992y&show=7#profile-info-8WAx4M5daa
And yet people on Yahoo! Answers, including top contributors, manage to do it, and apparently get away with it, since they're still "top" contributors.
2007-07-27 06:27:28 · 3 answers · asked by Jeffrey W 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Mathematics
So, Dr. D
If I gave you the sequence
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13
1. It's not really math
2. You can just do a best fit with a 6th power polynomial, since there's more than 1 correct answer and it's left to the solver's interpretation
2007-07-27 06:41:19 · update #1
OK so maybe that question can be interpreted that way.
But IMO that's neither the correct solution, nor is it math, even if it looks like it. And it feels to me that the answerer is encouraging what I would call cheating, from a math perspective.
Do people not want to really LEARN math? I guess they just come for the answers.
2007-07-27 06:44:53 · update #2
You still get two points for an answer; wrong or correct. And there is still the chance of getting ten points for a wrong answer, if it is voted the best, even though it is wrong.
2007-07-27 06:32:50 · answer #1 · answered by AndrewG 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First of all, that question (in the link) hardly involves math. So you cannot tell me there is only one correct answer. Pi R Squared took it as polynomial. And yes, you can do a polynomial fit using 3 points. And his results show a perfect fit using integer coefficients. He didn't even have to round off.
But these questions are all about spotting a trend, and honestly there are numerous possibilities for the next number. Why not a polynomial fit?
*EDIT*
Well why don't you tell me what's the answer to the linked question? You know so much about what is NOT the answer, what IS the answer?
With real math questions, there can only be one right answer, and no opinion is involved. That sequence you just posted is a known sequence, and you have enough terms to see the relation. If you had posted 1,1,2 then could you have honestly told me the next term is 3?
2007-07-27 06:33:47 · answer #2 · answered by Dr D 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I dunno, I've been BS'ing math for a long time now, and only a few have noticed.
2007-07-27 08:54:35 · answer #3 · answered by Scythian1950 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋