Math Memes

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Memes related to mathematics.

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Simplify (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Fun fact, omitting the (x-x) zero term and expanding the entire polynomial, you'd get something with 2^25 = 33,554,432 terms. May be slightly excessive!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Couldn't you combine a lot of like terms as you went along, though? A polynomial of the order x^26^ would only have 27 terms.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

No, because each coefficient is its own variable; they're not constants.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Huh, I'm so used to polynomials being in the form ax^2 + bx + c that I never considered that every letter might be a variable.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago

because each coefficient

There's only 1 coefficient - in this case it's (a-x) - the rest are just factors.

they’re not constants

They could be - we haven't been given that information.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 weeks ago

33,554,432 terms

Actually it would be that many factors. The whole thing is a single Term.