For no reason at all on the drive into work the other day I started thinking about my favorite math. Not anything super complex, of which there is some, but simple single digit integer math. Also my favorite numbers.
Addition:
As it turns out, one of my favorite simple additions is 6 + 4 = 10. Seems simple enough, right? Well how about if I tell you that 6 and 4 are among my least favorite numbers? Odder still if I point out that 3 and 2 are among my favorite numbers. Yet 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 just seems...stupid. I like 7 + 3 = 10 as well, but 6 + 4 just seems cleaner. Though 3 and 7 are among my favorite (if not favorite) single digit integers. I'm also a big fan of 3 + 5 = 8.
Subtraction:
I am not currently aware of any single digit integer subtraction equations that I favor over others. Really I guess it would be the opposite of the ones listed above because they remind me of themselves though in practice, not really.
Multiplication:
I really enjoy 3 x 4 = 12, again, despite the 4. Probably some latent desire for base 12 math. Though 3 x 7 = 21 is probably tops. Expanding beyond single digit integers, 21 is probably one of my favorites. 4 x 4 =16 is pretty sweet despite there being two 4s in it. And who doesn't love multiplying things by 5? Multiplying by 10 is boring. Far to simple. I know people will argue that it's not much simpler than multiplying by 5, but 5 is just so much more fun. On a side note I have a condition where settings like volume, temperature and such must always be a factor of 2 or 5. I have a really hard time setting volumes to values that are not factors of 5, though depending on the resolution of the system I can sometimes tolerate factors of 2. This has occasionally lead to arguments with The Pietras wherein he will claim I am deaf when I turn the receiver up from 50 to 55 even though he was having difficulty understanding speech at the lower volume. It's not my fault his receiver has such a low resolution that a 10% increase in the value of the number results in a 120% increase in volume.
Division:
I've realized that I no longer think of division in the traditional sense. And by traditional sense I mean long division. Rather I think of it as factorization, which is the same I know, yet it is kind of different. I was discussing this with The Knut recently and we both agreed that division is the devil. It is the one thing you always try to avoid. It can ruin perfectly good calculations. It is the only operation capable of destroying reality. It is pure, unadulterated evil.
Other:
When you get to the higher order mathematics it becomes less how you feel about what's right in front of you and more how you feel about what it describes. I really enjoy the heat equation as well as the Navier-Stokes equations because they describe two of my favorite things: heat and fluids. There are other simpler equations too such as INT(1/x)=ln(x). That's pretty cool. I'm a much bigger fan of integrals than derivatives. Integrals are just so integral and derivatives are just so...boring. Though I do enjoy d/dx e^x=e^x. That's a lot of fun and a really easy go to when you're trying to look smart in front of people who don't math for a living. Unless they have some experience mathing and ask you for the proof...in which case I'd be screwed. Something about always being tangent to their curves? Or is that the pickup line?
When you get to the higher order mathematics it becomes less how you feel about what's right in front of you and more how you feel about what it describes. I really enjoy the heat equation as well as the Navier-Stokes equations because they describe two of my favorite things: heat and fluids. There are other simpler equations too such as INT(1/x)=ln(x). That's pretty cool. I'm a much bigger fan of integrals than derivatives. Integrals are just so integral and derivatives are just so...boring. Though I do enjoy d/dx e^x=e^x. That's a lot of fun and a really easy go to when you're trying to look smart in front of people who don't math for a living. Unless they have some experience mathing and ask you for the proof...in which case I'd be screwed. Something about always being tangent to their curves? Or is that the pickup line?
No one can deny that e ^ (Pi(i)) = -1 is probably the most amazing thing ever and will probably be our best chance at salvation.
