Why are we still teaching algebra?

[Brett Luna]

Beautiful formatting Brett! Hand-coded HTML or WYSIWYG editor?

Your example reminded me of software I wrote long ago to pack a number of arbitrary shapes into other arbitrary shapes, e.g. for wood interest consider inputting a cut list and fitting it efficiently into either sheets goods or arbitrary sized boards, maintaining a specified grain orientation, working around defects, and maintaining kerf widths and allowing for surfacing waste. It's been a long time so I forget the details but you can bet your bippy I used a bit o' algebra. Good clean fun!

For those unfamiliar, when developing software the use of constants for anything is rare. The math (simple algebra, matrix algebra, calculus, etc.) is the easy part, normally done on paper first - the computer does nothing but dumb arithmetic. The logic and "bookkeeping" usually need far more thought than the math.

JKJ

Thanks, John but it's simple stuff, really. Done with a combination of WYSIWYG and manual* BB Code entry, using the [FONT], [SIZE], [SUB], and a few other formatting tags. If only the board had a LaTeX plugin, we could have some real fun. I need to install a TeX extension for Chrome one of these days.

*because WYSIWYG's code result is often...um...inelegant.

[William Adams]

The nicely formatted equation was a nice thing to see.

I've always thought it unfortunate that markup languages didn't learn more from LaTeX, though MathML has been an interesting development.

For the nesting thing --- it's definitely a tough problem. There is an opensource program for it: https://github.com/Jack000/SVGnest (and I believe MakerCAM may have had functionality for it).

[Jim Koepke]

But there is the odd one who can't help but beat the world over the head with their mastery. Not surprisingly, most of that lot are surgeons. Surgery seems not to breed humility.

This brings to mind an old riddle:

What is the difference between God and a surgeon?

God doesn't think he is a surgeon.

I don't remember a thread this long.

You must have never opened a sharpening thread in the Neanderthal Haven. Some of those got long, then a bit too hot, then closed and removed from view.

jtk

[Bob Glenn]

There are 10 kinds of people in this world: those who understand binary and those who don't.

Actually, there are ll kinds of people in the world, those that can read Roman numerals and those that can not.

[Jason Roehl]

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who understand extrapolation.

[Steve Demuth]

Surgeons have much less uncertainty in their practice than do physicians who practice in primarily cognitive fields ... Also, medical training leads to a lot of self-selection. People who are repulsed by arrogance stay away from surgery, and those who enjoy the one-upsmanship gladly go into surgery.

There are obviously many things at work in my observation. I think the biggest is the combination of self-selection that you mention with the need for a command and control environment in the OR. That puts a premium on certainty, warranted by the procedure at hand or not. It means that for much of their working time, the system demands certainty and command from surgeons. Nevertheless, it has always intrigued me that the anesthesiologists I know are almost uniformly self-effacing, humble people, notwithstanding that they literally take over their patients' physiology wholesale for hours in complex surgeries (which my organization specializes in), maintaining homeostasis and hemodynamic stability in bodies under the most demanding of assaults, when the bodies can't do it themselves.

[Steve Demuth]

God doesn't think he is a surgeon.

Not long ago we did a 50 hour surgery at our hospital, involving a rotating cast of half a dozen or more surgeons. The teamwork was mind blowing, not even counting the 50 or more supporting MDs and nurses. So take everything I say about surgeons with a grain of salt. To the degree I'm making a negative observation, I'm really talking about a subset, and not the most representative subset at that.

[Jim Koepke]

Nevertheless, it has always intrigued me that the anesthesiologists I know are almost uniformly self-effacing, humble people

What else can one be but humble when they tell people they pass gas for a living?

jtk

[Charlie Velasquez]

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who understand extrapolation.

Now that good, it took me a few seconds.