1
0^0
Clever student: I know! $latex x^{0}$ = $latex x^{1-1}$ = $latex x^{1} x^{-1}$ = $latex \frac{x}{x}$ = $latex 1$. Now we just plug in x=0, and we see that zero to the zero is one! Cleverer …
Ask a Mathematician / Ask a Physicist
Your Math and Physics Questions Answered
- Popular posts
- 7
- Total points
- 1,793
- HN comments
- 825
- Rank
- #971 personal
Visit askamathematician.com → RSS feedOn Hacker News Aug 2011 – Jul 2021
2
What does 0^0 equal? Why do mathematicians and high school teachers disagree?
Clever student: I know! $latex x^{0}$ = $latex x^{1-1}$ = $latex x^{1} x^{-1}$ = $latex \frac{x}{x}$ = $latex 1$. Now we just plug in x=0, and we see that zero to the zero is one! Cleverer …
3
Is there such a thing as half a derivative?
The original question was: Another one of those questions of the type “does this make sense”. You have first derivatives and second derivatives. f'(x), f”(x) or sometimes dy/dx …
4
Is π the Same in Every Universe?
Mathematician: That depends on what you mean by “universe.” Here’s a framing: A circle of radius R centered at a point P is the set of all points in the plane with distance R fro…