infinite mathematicians enter a bar. the first orders a pint of beer, the second orders half a pint. the third orders a quarter pint, and the bartender cuts them off there and just pours them two pints
after a time the mathematicians indicate they're ready for another round. as before, the first one orders a pint and the second orders a half. when the third orders a third of a pint the bartender says "actually i think you've all had enough for tonight"
@typhlosion HOW FUCKING DARE YOU
@typhlosion A great many sequences start in those ways. How does the bartender know after only three terms that the mathematicians are using those specific sequences?
Related: I wonder if 1 + 1/2 + 1/3 + 1/6 + 1/11 converges, with the denominator of each term equal to the sum of the previous three denominators.
Related: is there any scholarly work on the behavior of Fibonacci-like sequences where you add the previous n>2 numbers?
@typhlosion Turns out yes! They are called Tribonacci numbers.
https://oeis.org/A001590
@DialMforMara maybe they've tried this before
@typhlosion and the bartender learned that they did not have infinite patience
@typhlosion I think the tribonacci numbers converge. My pen-and-paper math suggests the sum is close to 2.2
infinite mathematicians are in a bar, nursing epsilons of beer from a previous order and getting a bit mischievous. catching the bartender's attention, the first orders a pint. the second orders two pints, the third three pints and so on. after a while the exasperated bartender pours a twelfth of a pint out of the mathematicians' glasses, at which point a brawl breaks out
@typhlosion someone smashes a klein bottle
the topologists begin throwing coffee cups and doughnuts
@twitter @typhlosion aren't those just donuts too?
@KitRedgrave @typhlosion i suppose they could have been throwing bagels too, i couldn't tell
@typhlosion I love this as a followup
@typhlosion "epsilons of" is an amazing descriptor and my inner mathematician is mad I hadn't heard it before now
@kawa could one of you please explain it to my sleep-addled brain? 🙏
@flitterbatflutterbat (with caveat that it's been years since I had to think about math this way:)
Epsilon is the Greek letter used in proofs for really tiny amounts. Examining behavior of (x + epsilon) as epsilon gets smaller is basically what a limit is (in the calculus sense). So nursing "epsilons of" beer = the last bits in the glass, as you hit your limit of what your should be drinking.
@typhlosion ", seriously, you guys aught to learn your limits"
@typhlosion Best math joke :D