6

[ssick92]

It seems to me that the answer is somewhat split between the simple folk and the math geeks. Ask anyone in the street and they will probably solve the question using left to right. where as ask anyone with some kind of higher education in math, and they will probably use the math parenthesis. Theres not a lot of point 'simplifying' the problem, the problem 'as is' done by a mathematician, using the common laws of math, will simply answer it as 1.

Who can tell me the highest number, that when written in the queens English, consists of only three words?

(IE 110 = one hundred and ten, 4 words)

False. Any math professor whom I have asked this question has always said the answer is 9. So I'm not sure where you got that info from...

 

[gallandof]

wow did not expect this post to get so many hits

 

[dan330]

your post was helpful too!
bump....

hey why does your tag say "traitor"??

 

[RiverOfIce]

False. Any math professor whom I have asked this question has always said the answer is 9. So I'm not sure where you got that info from...

Any math professor should have told you that it is a malformed expression that can not be answered until it is expressed in a correct format.

 

[Ichapp]

snip

Who can tell me the highest number, that when written in the queens English, consists of only three words?

(IE 110 = one hundred and ten, 4 words)

I have a qualm with this. 110 is properly written and spoken as one hundred ten; the word and only ever comes into play when one is dealing with bits less than one.

However, I can think of an infinitely large number which is written in three words that follows the template nine hundred T, where T may be replaced by something like million, billion, trillion, googol, googolplex, etc. but is quite a bit larger than that.

I also thought of something like "infinity plus one", but I don't much care for that one, because I'm sure if I thought about it long enough I could come up with a larger flavour of infinity in three words.

 

[XplosiV]

I have a qualm with this. 110 is properly written and spoken as one hundred ten; the word and only ever comes into play when one is dealing with bits less than one.

However, I can think of an infinitely large number which is written in three words that follows the template nine hundred T, where T may be replaced by something like million, billion, trillion, googol, googolplex, etc. but is quite a bit larger than that.

I also thought of something like "infinity plus one", but I don't much care for that one, because I'm sure if I thought about it long enough I could come up with a larger flavour of infinity in three words.

My bad, lol, its the lowest number to be said in three words, not the highest.

Also, i don't know anyone who says "one hundred ten", its always said as one hundred and ten, even if the 'and' is pronounced as 'n' or 'an'. Besides, that was purely an example specifically to rule out the exact point you made. The aim of the question is to find the lowest number that, as written, in the queens English, is written in three words. Just a bit of fun.

 

[ssick92]

Any math professor should have told you that it is a malformed expression that can not be answered until it is expressed in a correct format.

But without additional information, they say it is interpreted to be solved left to right using order of operations.

My bad, lol, its the lowest number to be said in three words, not the highest.

Also, i don't know anyone who says "one hundred ten", its always said as one hundred and ten, even if the 'and' is pronounced as 'n' or 'an'. Besides, that was purely an example specifically to rule out the exact point you made. The aim of the question is to find the lowest number that, as written, in the queens English, is written in three words. Just a bit of fun.

One over infinity?

 

[novox77]

My bad, lol, its the lowest number to be said in three words, not the highest.

Also, i don't know anyone who says "one hundred ten", its always said as one hundred and ten, even if the 'and' is pronounced as 'n' or 'an'. Besides, that was purely an example specifically to rule out the exact point you made. The aim of the question is to find the lowest number that, as written, in the queens English, is written in three words. Just a bit of fun.

negative ninety [million, billion, trillion, googolplex, etc] (unless the negative sign doesn't count)

one one [millionth, billionth, trillionth, googleplexth, etc]
(one one hundredth = 1/100)

one hundred thousandths [millionths, billionths, etc] (if duplicating the one [above] is not allowed)

zero point zero (unless the decimal is not allowed)

one hundred thousand (if every word has to represent a number)

twenty one pairs [dozen, score, fortnight] (if words that represent a number count)

this puzzle isn't very good without some more boundaries.

 

[Bob Maxey]

I have a qualm with this. 110 is properly written and spoken as one hundred ten; the word and only ever comes into play when one is dealing with bits less than one.

However, I can think of an infinitely large number which is written in three words that follows the template nine hundred T, where T may be replaced by something like million, billion, trillion, googol, googolplex, etc. but is quite a bit larger than that.

I also thought of something like "infinity plus one", but I don't much care for that one, because I'm sure if I thought about it long enough I could come up with a larger flavour of infinity in three words.

I never cared for the idea that if you add "one" to infinity, you somehow trump infinity or make it one digit longer. Infinity is never ending; the infinite set tends to include the "plus one' because it is infinite.

I always listen to Dr. Math. Consider this:

Infinity a Concept, Not a Number

1/infinity = 0

In words, if 1 chocolate bar is divided among an infinite number of people, no one gets anything! Where did the chocolate bar go? Doesn't it imply that 1/infinity = infinitesimally small?

Hello Kaiser,

I think you have the basic idea down, but you may have also fallen prey to a common misconception that I'd like to clear up.

Where did you get the idea that 1/infinity = 0?

The very sentence "1/infinity = 0" has no meaning. Why? Because "infinity" is a concept, NOT a number. It is a concept that means "limitlessness." As such, it cannot be used with any mathematical operators. The symbols of +, -, x, and / are arithmetic operators, and we can only use them for numbers.

To write 1/infinity and mean "1 divided by infinity" doesn't make any sense. 1 cannot be divided by a concept. It can only be divided by a number. Similarly, "infinity + 1" or "2 times infinity" are also meaningless.

As another example, what does this mean: "1 / justice = 5"?

That's right! It is as meaningless as "1 / infinity = 0" because justice is a concept, not a number.

In math, when you hear people say things like "1 over infinity is zero" what they are usually referring to is something called a limit. They are just using a kind of shorthand, however. They do NOT mean that 1 can actually be divided by infinity. Instead, they mean that, if you divide 1 by successively higher numbers, the result becomes closer and closer to 0. If I divide 1 by a very large number, like a billion, then I get one-billionth, which is a VERY small number, but it isn't 0. Since there is no largest number, I can always divide 1 by a bigger number. But that will just produce an even smaller number, right? It will NEVER produce 0, no matter how high I go. But since the answer to the division is getting closer to and closer to 0, we say that "the limit of the expression is zero." But we have still not divided anything by infinity, since that isn't a number.

To go back to your chocolate bar, what if you divide it among every person living on earth? Each person would get roughly 1 six-billionth of a chocolate bar. That's a very, very small amount, and you'd probably need a microscope to see your piece, but it wouldn't be zero, right? Ah, but you asked about dividing it up amongst an infinite number of people. Well, we can't. Why? Because infinity isn't a number, so you can't show me an infinite number of people. If you try to, I will just add one more person, and then we'd realize that the number you thought was "infinity" actually wasn't.

So, to finish up, you are perfectly correct in saying that "1/infinity = infinitesimally small." But only if you realize that you REALLY mean "1 divided by a REALLY big number is a REALLY small number."

Thanks for writing to Dr. Math. Don't hesitate to write again if you need further help with this or another question.

Thank God there are only 26 letters to contend with. Not sure what we ould do if some scientist with an NSA research grant finally discovers the illusive 27th letter of the alphabet. Some call it the God Letter like the ever popular God Particle.

 

[novox77]

typical mathematician response.

technical schmectical. ok fine then:

lim(1/x) x -> infinity = 0

of course that no longer satisfies the three-word rule

"limit of one over x where x approaches infinity equals zero"

 

[XplosiV]

negative ninety [million, billion, trillion, googolplex, etc] (unless the negative sign doesn't count)

one one [millionth, billionth, trillionth, googleplexth, etc]
(one one hundredth = 1/100)

one hundred thousandths [millionths, billionths, etc] (if duplicating the one [above] is not allowed)

zero point zero (unless the decimal is not allowed)

one hundred thousand (if every word has to represent a number)

twenty one pairs [dozen, score, fortnight] (if words that represent a number count)

this puzzle isn't very good without some more boundaries.

ok, it has to be a positive integer ... its not as hard or complex as you make out. Just start at one and keep counting till you get the answer.

 

[novox77]

ok, it has to be a positive integer ... its not as hard or complex as you make out. Just start at one and keep counting till you get the answer.

'twenty one hundred' (2100), like twenty one hundred hours, military speak.

of course, technically there should be a dash between twenty and one. Though I see it written both ways. Not sure how the Queen would write it.

without dashes, seems like 'one hundred thousand' is the shortest.

BTW, the formal way to write a number does NOT include the word "and."

101 is formally written as 'one hundred one.' This should be the correct answer.

But like I said before, you really have to define the boundaries better.

 

[Roze]

Have we moved on to another problem Bob's post makes me want to go to sleep and I saw neither 9 and 1...so we must have moved on, lol.

 

[kobi]

1
11
21
1211
111221

Right???

 

[Bob Maxey]

1
11
21
1211
111221

Right???

I am not sure. I did steal the thread and I asked the gathered few what number comes next and more importantly, WHY

1,1,1,2,1,3,1


So here is another clue: ask your local horologist.

Bob

 

[XplosiV]

Lol, ok it seems no one really gets it, but nvm, and twenty one hundred is a no, as in queens english that would be 'two thousand one hundred' and as is typical, also in queens english, you would type the 'and' otherwise its not queens english is it?

 

[Streptococcus]

google says so ... i'm voting "9"
Google

Wrong!!! Google is not saying 6

 

[jroc]

Vihzel, I dont know whether to congratulate you or be mad at you for this thread...lol

 

[Bob Maxey]

Don't compilers have a specific way to evaluate expressions? Just to avoid problems down the road?

 

[novox77]

Lol, ok it seems no one really gets it, but nvm, and twenty one hundred is a no, as in queens english that would be 'two thousand one hundred' and as is typical, also in queens english, you would type the 'and' otherwise its not queens english is it?

I think it's time you showed some proof about all this queen's english nonsense

 

[Bob Maxey]

I think it's time you showed some proof about all this queen's english nonsense

Received Pronunciation (RP), also called the Queen's (or King's) English,[1] Oxford English,[2] or BBC English, is the accent of Standard English in England, with a relationship to regional accents similar to the relationship in other European languages between their standard varieties and their regional forms.[3] RP is used to a much lesser extent in Scotland, Wales and Ireland.[citation needed] Although there is nothing intrinsic about RP that marks it as superior to any other variety, sociolinguistic factors have given Received Pronunciation particular prestige in England and Wales[dubious

 

[Bob Maxey]

16

 

[Bob Maxey]

Have we moved on to another problem Bob's post makes me want to go to sleep and I saw neither 9 and 1...so we must have moved on, lol.

If you evaluate the equation properly, this is what you get:

6

 

[novox77]

Received Pronunciation (RP), also called the Queen's (or King's) English,[1] Oxford English,[2] or BBC English, is the accent of Standard English in England, with a relationship to regional accents similar to the relationship in other European languages between their standard varieties and their regional forms.[3] RP is used to a much lesser extent in Scotland, Wales and Ireland.[citation needed] Although there is nothing intrinsic about RP that marks it as superior to any other variety, sociolinguistic factors have given Received Pronunciation particular prestige in England and Wales[dubious

 

[XplosiV]

You see this XplosiV? queen's english is simply pronunciation. has nothing to do with writing, using "and" and all the other stuff you assert. If anyone speaking with this accent says "2100" in military speak, it qualifies as queen's english.

So... "written in queen's english" makes no sense as it deals with speech. Maybe you meant standard British English... at which point, I'd demand a source that says that 101 is NOT formally written as "one hundred one."

Some more food for thought: the year 1776. Seventeen Seventy Six. That's how it's said. Three numbers. Ask a Brit how they would write that. It would either be '1776' or 'seventeen seventy six.' So why would "twenty one hundred' be invalid? No one says "the year one thousand seven hundred seventy six." And notice the lack of "and" in that fully qualified number.

First: dude its a brainteaser, not a debate, either you know the answer or you don't, clearly you don't.

Second: i AM a brit, and we DO say "one thousand and one" as stated even if the "and" is pronounced as "an". in all my life the only people i have heard say one hundred one are the ones using the American bast***ised English, you know the one, with all the wrong spellings So "written in queens English" is to assert that it should be written in British standard English.

Alternative forms
one hundred and one (British preferred format)

Third: years are a little different, as 1776 could also be read to an audience as "the year seventeen hundered and seventy six".

The brain teaser, as I elaborated like you asked, is to name the lowest integer that is said in three words. "one hundred thousand" qualifies but there is a lower number.