Problems with Zero - Numberphile

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 มิ.ย. 2024
  • Dividing by zero, zero divided by zero and zero to the power of zero - all pose problems!
    More links & stuff in full description below ↓↓↓
    This video features Matt Parker and James Grime - / standupmaths and / jamesgrime
    NUMBERPHILE
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ความคิดเห็น • 14K

  • @UnexistingChannel
    @UnexistingChannel 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2489

    Matt is very smart for a guy who writes infinity as double zeroes instead of a laying eight

    • @marzi_kat
      @marzi_kat 2 ปีที่แล้ว +204

      What if he writes eight the same way?

    • @rorschak47
      @rorschak47 2 ปีที่แล้ว +240

      And X as two C having each other's back

    • @OrangeC7
      @OrangeC7 2 ปีที่แล้ว +114

      @@marzi_kat It's treason, then.

    • @TabooGroundhog
      @TabooGroundhog 2 ปีที่แล้ว +84

      @@rorschak47
      Well that’s cause it’s a cursive x

    • @lonestarr1490
      @lonestarr1490 2 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      @JZ's Best Friend They would put him in a room with a quadratic floor and call it the Parker Square.

  • @p0ltergeists
    @p0ltergeists 8 ปีที่แล้ว +3855

    "BUT, if I am naughty..." Oh baby, talk nerdy to me~

    • @karlcorrz
      @karlcorrz 8 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      LOL

    • @yard2010
      @yard2010 8 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      +James Lynn Savage

    • @f1f1s
      @f1f1s 8 ปีที่แล้ว +116

      +James Lynn
      Rounding to the first decimal place also counts as naughty. Computing ∫e^x dx makes one horny.

    • @stonecat676
      @stonecat676 8 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      +James Lynn oh my lord

    • @Closeuplogic
      @Closeuplogic 8 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      pearl you're smart, what's the real answer here to 1/0

  • @HECKproductions
    @HECKproductions 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2001

    "glorified adding" is the best description of multiplying ever

    • @BasicEndjo
      @BasicEndjo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +74

      would that mean exponents are extra glorified adding?

    • @shnob4916
      @shnob4916 3 ปีที่แล้ว +127

      @@BasicEndjo glorified multiplication

    • @BasicEndjo
      @BasicEndjo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +77

      @@shnob4916 yeah and multiplication is glorified adding. then exponent is *extra* glorified adding

    • @TnseWlms
      @TnseWlms 3 ปีที่แล้ว +46

      An article in the Onion from 1907 reported that a record breaking number of American children are staying in school beyond third grade. They are learning advanced skills such as multiplication, which we are told, is a powerful form of adding, resulting in numbers so large that three or even sometimes four figures are required to write them.

    • @rishabhnitc
      @rishabhnitc 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      This is what I told my 2 grader. “Fast addition”

  • @robotiquebleu9619
    @robotiquebleu9619 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1302

    My 7th grade algebra teacher would only whisper of dividing by zero because it would “upset the calculator gods”. He was one of my favorite teachers ever.

    • @DaDonElChulo
      @DaDonElChulo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +37

      Great anecdote

    • @malteepmeier
      @malteepmeier 2 ปีที่แล้ว +58

      My math teacher said he could taste numbers

    • @ditian6234
      @ditian6234 2 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      @@malteepmeier Ah, Synesthesia!

    • @cones914
      @cones914 2 ปีที่แล้ว +70

      @@malteepmeier mine snorted cocaine in class and offered some to us.

    • @pxlbits6442
      @pxlbits6442 2 ปีที่แล้ว +40

      @@cones914 Disgusting! Where is that teacher located? So I can avoid it

  • @tiagojoseazevedoalvares1021
    @tiagojoseazevedoalvares1021 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2289

    "Only a nerd would tell you differently."
    *cuts to Parker* - Sooo, first of all [...]

    • @dackid2831
      @dackid2831 5 ปีที่แล้ว +210

      Even better "... and that's when you cut to Matt telling them differently."

    • @Exploshi
      @Exploshi 4 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      i clicked the [...] in ur comment wtf wrong with me lol

    • @avi8aviate
      @avi8aviate 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      "And then we cut to a nerd telling you differently."

    • @dontmd4158
      @dontmd4158 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      exploshi I clicked the [...] on yours😂

    • @Kavafy
      @Kavafy 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      thatsthejoke.jpg

  • @aDifferentJT
    @aDifferentJT 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2447

    I suggest we define 1/0 = blue

    • @blue9139
      @blue9139 5 ปีที่แล้ว +41

      Jonathan Tanner
      Look at me

    • @CaseyShontz
      @CaseyShontz 5 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      Jonathan Tanner make a petition

    • @nataliaborys1554
      @nataliaborys1554 5 ปีที่แล้ว +108

      1÷0=blue. The newest axiom in mathematics.

    • @bsm239
      @bsm239 5 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      x/0 = blue(x+1)

    • @Xnoob545
      @Xnoob545 5 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@bsm239 1÷0=Blue×1+1=Blue×2=2Blue

  • @andreaslam
    @andreaslam 3 ปีที่แล้ว +692

    "The problem is it's a dangerous number and a lot of things can go horribly wrong with 0"
    "Mom I got 0 in maths"
    *UH OH*

    • @savitharao7283
      @savitharao7283 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Lol

    • @tenplusten1116
      @tenplusten1116 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      if it was art, it would’ve been better

    • @mmmmmmmmmmmmmm5866
      @mmmmmmmmmmmmmm5866 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@boncoderz1430 you mean nice zero?

    • @leyyes
      @leyyes ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@tenplusten1116 Especially if you're from Austria...

    • @annxu8219
      @annxu8219 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@leyyesuh oh…

  • @ralfoide
    @ralfoide 4 ปีที่แล้ว +437

    A video featuring both Matt and James is such a lovely treat. They are infinitely different.

    • @anushkadas9267
      @anushkadas9267 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      i see what you did there hahah

    • @gddanielk8491
      @gddanielk8491 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Gosh you can’t say that

  • @snbeast9545
    @snbeast9545 4 ปีที่แล้ว +633

    For the "why does it return Error in a computer" question, the division assembly instructions (at least for x86) are designed to generate an interrupt when the divisor is zero. In other words, they are told to error out.

    • @Xnoob545
      @Xnoob545 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      What would happen if they werent?

    • @y-ax2-bx-c5
      @y-ax2-bx-c5 4 ปีที่แล้ว +79

      @@Xnoob545 Presumably it would attempt that forever. It'd never find its result, and the part that tells it to stop has been chopped off, so it'll just never stop

    • @Suicidekings_
      @Suicidekings_ 4 ปีที่แล้ว +37

      @@Xnoob545 setcomputeronfire.exe would initiate and well... You get the idea.

    • @Xnoob545
      @Xnoob545 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@y-ax2-bx-c5 its like a minecraft world made out of sand
      Just falls fprever amd uses exponentaially more power

    • @seushimarejikaze1337
      @seushimarejikaze1337 3 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      @@Xnoob545 cpu would hang at 100% usage trying to compute the result of what cant be computed, until you restarted it. therefore safety instruction/lock was added to prevent such.

  • @kcircuit8684
    @kcircuit8684 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2151

    1/0 = blue the secret is out

  • @oreowithurea5018
    @oreowithurea5018 3 ปีที่แล้ว +461

    "Divide"
    -No
    "GlOriFieD SuBsTrAcTioN"
    - *YES*

    • @debblez
      @debblez 3 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Substraction?

    • @wobblyorbee279
      @wobblyorbee279 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      That is like roblox ad...

    • @niccolopaganini1782
      @niccolopaganini1782 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Thank me for i was the 69th to like
      Jk

    • @wobblyorbee279
      @wobblyorbee279 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@niccolopaganini1782 hello paganini

    • @xuly3129
      @xuly3129 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      0/0 = calculus

  • @gaymare6236
    @gaymare6236 2 ปีที่แล้ว +46

    12:49 "we could make it anything we want it to be depending on the angle we come at it from"
    sound life advice right there

  • @andrewjones5973
    @andrewjones5973 5 ปีที่แล้ว +505

    Plot twist; the entire Numberphile series is a promotion for Sharpie.

  • @MinecraftStonewideos
    @MinecraftStonewideos 5 ปีที่แล้ว +703

    *Santa:* You don't get presents this year because you were naughty
    *Mathematician:* What! Why?
    *Santa:* You used infinity as an answer

    • @marilynman
      @marilynman 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      in high school I was doing a problem on the blackboard in an algebra class and I was finishing it fast so I was writing both sides of the equation (my way of doing it) and the teacher saw it and yelled "algebraic sacrilege!!!!" and that scared me lol and everyone else in the classroom. I swear that we almost hear thunders falling on us. Sufficient to say that I never had the opportunity to explain to him that I was still writing my answer, so I just completed the answer as a "correction".

    • @circuit10
      @circuit10 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@marilynman You're supposed to write both sides?

    • @marilynman
      @marilynman 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@circuit10 I meant that when you start writing it, you begin with the right side, you finish writing that side and then move on to the right side. I was doing both sides at the same time.

    • @AKM-vo9lw
      @AKM-vo9lw 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      X/0 = santa

    • @caringheart34
      @caringheart34 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @Eero Naughty boy. Now you cannot wish to Santa anymore. Even finding out the meaning of life and solutions to infinity.

  • @flurng
    @flurng 3 ปีที่แล้ว +207

    Now, I had always been taught that X/0 was "undefined", while 0/0 was "indeterminate". The logic behind this is that the denominator (or "divisor") should always be able to be made equal to the numerator, by multiplication with some factor.
    So, for example, 1/2 = .5, thus 2 can be made equal to 1 by multiplication with.5. However, in the case of X/0, there is no factor that can make 0 = X, since 0 times ANYthing is always 0. So, there is no correct answer, therefore, the problem is "undefned".
    On the other hand, in the case of 0/0, literally ANY factor will make 0 equal to itself, so there is no INcorrect answer. Thus, in essence, any value is equal to any OTHER value, which is impossible. Therefore, the problem is called "indeterminate", since one cannot determine what value best solves the problem.

    • @Firefly256
      @Firefly256 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @Vikas Bhardwaj what if we define 0/0 as equal to 0

    • @angelmendez-rivera351
      @angelmendez-rivera351 2 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      I know you said this is what you were taught, but it bears mentioning that this is just incorrect. There is no such a thing as "indeterminate" in mathematics, and people need to stop using this word forever. 0/0 does not exist. Period. That is all there is to it. And there is a very simple reason it does not, but it just has to do with what division itself is. Division is just multiplication: multiplication by the reciprocal, to be exact. 0 has no reciprocal. So one cannot divide by 0.

    • @Firefly256
      @Firefly256 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@angelmendez-rivera351 because in calculus, 0 is not exactly 0, 0 can be 0.0002 or -0.00001, numbers are not exactly their values. That’s why there is indeterminate

    • @OptimusPhillip
      @OptimusPhillip 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      ​@deaf I fail to see how those points connect. 0*x = 0 for all values of x is a true statement. I don't see how this implies that 0/0 = 1 any more than it does any arbitrary number.

    • @OptimusPhillip
      @OptimusPhillip 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      ​@@angelmendez-rivera351 Yes, in terms of numerical value, indeterminate forms are considered undefined. But they are very useful in calculus because of how they affect limits. (f(x+h) - f(x))/h = 0/0 when h=0, so it's undefined. But the limit as h approaches 0 is very much defined (when f(x) is continuous), and is in fact the definition of the derivative. If 0/0 is just undefined, derivatives don't exist, and calculus doesn't work. That's why we have indeterminate forms, at least when working with limits

  • @thewhitefalcon8539
    @thewhitefalcon8539 ปีที่แล้ว +46

    There's a video around of an old mechanical calculator which gets stuck in a loop when trying to divide by zero, and the operator has to press the abort button to stop it running.
    Nothing bad happens - it just keeps subtracting zero and counting how many times it subtracts zero and it never finishes.

  • @liamdienemann8937
    @liamdienemann8937 5 ปีที่แล้ว +349

    7:44
    "We're gonna slide it in and, in fact, we're gonna have to do it from both directions"
    O___0

    • @thatoneguy9582
      @thatoneguy9582 5 ปีที่แล้ว +47

      Liam Dienemann
      “more than a numberphile”

    • @Rudxain
      @Rudxain 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      An Infinityphile XDXDXDXD

    • @caringheart34
      @caringheart34 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      There's a reason why infinity is drawn as two circles.

    • @brunnomenxa
      @brunnomenxa 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Nice

  • @artschannel1359
    @artschannel1359 5 ปีที่แล้ว +713

    I love these numberphile videos because you can litterally notice how they get high on math as the video goes 😂

    • @Halolaloo
      @Halolaloo 5 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      i see much enthusiasm :D I suggest "a hole in a hole in a hole" :D

    • @emilyreynolds9206
      @emilyreynolds9206 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Math makes me horny

    • @randomaccessfemale
      @randomaccessfemale 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      It's the only way to fly.

    • @stargazer7644
      @stargazer7644 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      That's what happens when you inhale sharpies.

    • @xexpaguette
      @xexpaguette 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      *Meth

  • @EvilNightwolf
    @EvilNightwolf 3 ปีที่แล้ว +35

    11:23 Even the painting is interested in mathematics.

  • @EDoyl
    @EDoyl 3 ปีที่แล้ว +71

    There's some great footage on TH-cam of mechanical calculators, oldschool ones, dividing by zero. No programmed-in "Math Error" there, the things just spin forever making a racket, they're probably subtracting zero over and over but maybe some of them are failing in a more clever way.

  • @downeykids
    @downeykids 5 ปีที่แล้ว +187

    Don’t expose them to sunlight, don’t let them eat after midnight, don’t get them wet, and never divide by zero

    • @mistercherno
      @mistercherno 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      I understood that reference!

    • @jerry3790
      @jerry3790 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      But it’s always after midnight...

    • @rosuav
      @rosuav 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Do not touch the operational end of The Device. Do not submerge The Device in liquid, even partially. Most importantly, under no circumstances should you divide The Device by zero.

    • @steveheist6426
      @steveheist6426 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      AND NEVER EAT PEARS!

    • @myownmeadow1320
      @myownmeadow1320 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      … And those are the rules for math gremlins.

  • @marobottec1
    @marobottec1 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1716

    I divided 1/0 in my calculator and now it runs Super Mario 64.

    • @farisakmal2722
      @farisakmal2722 5 ปีที่แล้ว +53

      if I divide by 0 on my smartphone, can my smartphone calculate a rocket launch?

    • @chaoticwaffle5487
      @chaoticwaffle5487 5 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@farisakmal2722 Probably

    • @blue9139
      @blue9139 5 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      I divided zero on my table and now it can shoot lasers and fly

    • @harleylequin3987
      @harleylequin3987 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      ok............

    • @namechangelol9815
      @namechangelol9815 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      I inputted 1/0 into a sideways 8 and now every time I draw an 8, it Runs fortnite

  • @moosesurgeon
    @moosesurgeon ปีที่แล้ว +30

    A decade later and still a fantastic video!

    • @oz_jones
      @oz_jones ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Ten, meaning one, zero. Coincidence? I think not!

  • @puppergump4117
    @puppergump4117 2 ปีที่แล้ว +84

    6:10 Yes, computers are taught not to divide by 0. The reason is because bitwise math operations are only add and subtract. Multiplication is just repeated adding, while division is repeated subtracting. If you divide by 0, you are telling the computer to subtract 0 from the original until the value of the original is

    • @keonscorner516
      @keonscorner516 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      ≤ not

    • @mdsharfuddinmd5710
      @mdsharfuddinmd5710 ปีที่แล้ว

      Happy New year sir

    • @jathebest2835
      @jathebest2835 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      But Javascript gives back Infinity..

    • @puppergump4117
      @puppergump4117 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@jathebest2835 That doesn't matter since the sign of the quotient is determined by the dividend. So are you going to get it as infinity or negative infinity? Since the answer is undefined anyways, is there a point in computing it?

    • @puppergump4117
      @puppergump4117 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@mdsharfuddinmd5710 hi you too

  • @SarahC2
    @SarahC2 8 ปีที่แล้ว +195

    "We have to slide it in, from both directions." - Phwoar........

    • @anonymousaubergine4455
      @anonymousaubergine4455 8 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      stop. lets keep it PG

    • @rlrsk8r1
      @rlrsk8r1 8 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      +Sarah Cartwright Hi Sarah!

    • @MagisterMalleus
      @MagisterMalleus 8 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      +John Yyc zero ain't PG mate. Zero is a dirty boy.

    • @matrixphijr
      @matrixphijr 8 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      +Sarah Cartwright "So you say, 'Well, if it doesn't matter which side we're coming in from... surely we can just call it one.'"

    • @matrixphijr
      @matrixphijr 8 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      +John Yyc Even PG movies are allowed brief adult moments.

  • @rhynosouris710
    @rhynosouris710 5 ปีที่แล้ว +605

    An accountant, an engineer, and a mathematician are asked how much is 1 + 1:
    Mathematician: "1 + 1 is 2 and I can prove it"
    Engineer: "Well, 1 + 1 is anything between 1.8 & 2.1"
    Accountant: "It depends. How much do you want 1 + 1 to equal?"

    • @JoeLinux2000
      @JoeLinux2000 5 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      Democrat: 1 x 0 = transgender
      Republican: 1 + 1 = homophobe

    • @crackedemerald4930
      @crackedemerald4930 5 ปีที่แล้ว +162

      Quantum physicist: i don't know until i actually calculate it
      Surrealist: yes
      Communist: 1/2 for me, 1/2 for you, and 1 whole for the state

    • @DeadJDona
      @DeadJDona 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      It depends whether we sell or buy.

    • @jjjjj2220
      @jjjjj2220 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      How to make a million dollours on paper with 50

    • @naimy4511
      @naimy4511 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Numberphile: Imma head out

  • @rishan2235
    @rishan2235 3 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    2:25Mathematicians definition if “naughty” and “evil” - “Ooh, what if I said 1/0 = infinity? Ooooooh”

  • @psychotheunsane4542
    @psychotheunsane4542 2 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    Multiplication and division are the next iteration of addition and subtraction. The iterations beyond those are exponents and roots. When you get beyond that, it gets really hairy. Layered exponents (also known as "towers") and roots (just the reciprocal of towers) are as far as most people dare to go. But you can technically go as far as you want, and Knuth invented a special notation to explain the weird realm beyond layered exponents/roots. It was used to create one of the largest numbers ever conceived, Graham's number.

  • @kead_davidson
    @kead_davidson 7 ปีที่แล้ว +93

    The way he smiles when he brings in the complex numbers...

    • @looxluthor802
      @looxluthor802 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      And that all the while glossing over X^X for negative X looking really strange (it's jumping all over the complex plane and is basically discontinous everywhere). That is not a function for which you want to find a limit. The complex version must be just as bizarre.

  • @sennahoj9332
    @sennahoj9332 5 ปีที่แล้ว +339

    When i was a child. I thought 0 and -0 were different numbers, and i kept counting wrong when going from positive to negative or negative to positive

    • @digitig
      @digitig 4 ปีที่แล้ว +35

      In IEEE 754 format they *are* different numbers. They behave very much alike, though.

    • @p.as.in.pterodactyl1024
      @p.as.in.pterodactyl1024 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      What's bigger, zero minus zero, or zero minus negative zero? Lol just kidding.

    • @DrunkenUFOPilot
      @DrunkenUFOPilot 4 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      @@p.as.in.pterodactyl1024 Who is bigger, Mr. Bigger or Mr. Bigger's baby? The baby, because he's a little bigger.

    • @user-yv1qs7sy9d
      @user-yv1qs7sy9d 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Original commenter: You were born with what is called "Ones' complement"! I guess you were upgraded to "Twos' complement" since then.

    • @sennahoj9332
      @sennahoj9332 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@user-yv1qs7sy9d What is that?

  • @kaif_.
    @kaif_. 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    The way he writes Infinite Haunts me 3:07

  • @AbhiMule404
    @AbhiMule404 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Software developer here: We don't try to solve it by any method...
    we throw error for situations like this 😂

    • @AbhiMule404
      @AbhiMule404 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@ForeverStill_Fan1 start with C or C++
      Understand the basics of programming...
      Don't directly jump to python... Python is a high level language doesn't help too much for building logic...
      For frameworks- depends on your interest

  • @SuperPhunThyme9
    @SuperPhunThyme9 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2784

    1÷0= infinity
    2÷0= Double infinity
    There I Fixed it

    • @coulombicdistortion1814
      @coulombicdistortion1814 4 ปีที่แล้ว +107

      @Interesting Numbers Wait a minute, then you can multiply both sides by 0 and get 1=2. I think the Illuminati must be at work here. -lol

    • @annoyinglyfast5972
      @annoyinglyfast5972 4 ปีที่แล้ว +77

      @@coulombicdistortion1814 Here's the thing about multiplying by zero: anything multiplied by zero is zero. So 0(1/0=2/0)
      (1*0)/(0*0)=(2*0)/(0*0)
      0/0=0/0

    • @neelamshroff
      @neelamshroff 4 ปีที่แล้ว +27

      Travis Ryno I have been stuck on this since last evening. My 13 yr old told me exactly this, and then used Banach-Tarski model to say that 1+1=1 is mathematically possible. I don’t know right now whether to believe his hypothesis or continue to say x/0 is undefined.

    • @heathc148
      @heathc148 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@annoyinglyfast5972 He is saying that the logic is wrong

    • @joshuapinkham4631
      @joshuapinkham4631 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @Travis Ryno therefore 0/0=0

  • @mackycabangon8945
    @mackycabangon8945 6 ปีที่แล้ว +265

    "We can no more say that 1 divided by 0 is equal to blue"
    I lost it

    • @meta04
      @meta04 5 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      "we can no more say that *than* [that] one divided by zero is equal to blue"
      you missed a "than"

    • @matrixarsmusicworkshop561
      @matrixarsmusicworkshop561 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@meta04 ?

  • @sulfurx777
    @sulfurx777 4 ปีที่แล้ว +142

    Also, it can’t be infinity, because even if you subtract it an infinite amount of times your still going to have the number you started with.

    • @Vespyr_
      @Vespyr_ 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      But all division does is count the subtractions that took place to reach the number. Therefore, it isn't infinity or the number you started with. It's 0.
      20 / 4 = 5 (Five Subtractions)
      20 - 0 = 20. No subtraction took place.
      20 / 0 = 0 (Zero Subtractions)

    • @angelmendez-rivera351
      @angelmendez-rivera351 2 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      @@Vespyr_ No, that is horribly incorrect. Firstly, that is not how division actually works: division is not repated subtraction, and multiplication is not repeated addition. Secondly, even if division did work that way, your answer is still wrong, becaue 20/0 would be equal, by your definition, to the number of times you have to subtract 0 from 20 to achieve 0. The problem is that, even if you subtract 0 an infinite amount of times from 20, you still do not achieve 0. The answer is not 0, nor is it an infinite number. It is just impossible to achieve 0 via such repeated subtractions, hence 20/0 is undefined.
      Nevermind this, because as I explained firstly, division is not repeated subtraction. The reason division by 0 is problematic is because, in order for division by a quantity A to be possible, you need to have the following property: if A·x = A·y, then x = y. This does not occur with 0. 0·1 = 0·(1 + 1), but 1 = 1 + 1 is false, in general. So division by 0 is hopeless.

    • @aaykat6078
      @aaykat6078 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      The answer is super existence, a level above every number

    • @thefloormat3297
      @thefloormat3297 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@angelmendez-rivera351 I think you missed the point of glorified subtraction but that idea does work, 28 divided by 4 is just 28 minus 4 over and over till its 0, which is when it's been subracted 7 times

    • @angelmendez-rivera351
      @angelmendez-rivera351 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@thefloormat3297 No, dude, I literally addressed it within my first sentence. Maybe you do not know how to read. Also, I already explained how subtraction does not work. You cannot subtract 0 over and over from 20 until you get 0. It is impossible.

  • @somedudeok1451
    @somedudeok1451 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    This is my favorite video on this channel. Makes me chuckle every time.

  • @blueberryboi9426
    @blueberryboi9426 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1607

    Joke's on you, I divided by zero and got an answer. I put 1/0 in my calculator, and got "Error". So, 1/0=Error.

    • @modvind
      @modvind 7 ปีที่แล้ว +46

      Jude Pelaez makes sense lol

    • @domantasbronusas
      @domantasbronusas 7 ปีที่แล้ว +29

      basically, you get something, what programmer wrote. And of course he lies.

    • @jospehas7850
      @jospehas7850 7 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Jude Pelaez 0 divided by 0=error

    • @U014B
      @U014B 7 ปีที่แล้ว +41

      Jude Pelaez So 1/0 is the guy from Zelda 2? Brilliant!

    • @Niom_Music
      @Niom_Music 7 ปีที่แล้ว +40

      Jude Pelaez but what about 0 divided with 'error'?

  • @the.seagull.35
    @the.seagull.35 9 ปีที่แล้ว +375

    Everybody in this comment section is a math genius....

    • @Commievn
      @Commievn 9 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      welcome to the *light side* of TH-cam, buddy.
      Literally, it was such a culture shock for me when i 1st came here XD!

    • @borilboyanov5544
      @borilboyanov5544 9 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Chris Griffin Hah! MY EYES! Yes... YT is changing :)

    • @junofall
      @junofall 9 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Except from me :(

    • @Wild4lon
      @Wild4lon 9 ปีที่แล้ว

      'Maths genius?'
      Ohnhon this is stuff which, if you ever paid attention in school, should be logical. I don't understand why people believe that worked out concepts are so hard. You just gotta puzzle over it until you understand.

    • @ArticulateDuck
      @ArticulateDuck 9 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      The word "everybody" is actually conjugated in the singular, as in "everybody was Kung Fu fighting", and not "everybody were".
      Genii is acceptable, however.

  • @monkeseeaction21987
    @monkeseeaction21987 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    "anything divided by zero is counting to infinity."
    Vsauce: *how to count pass infinity*

    • @gandolph999
      @gandolph999 ปีที่แล้ว

      Division by non-existence?
      It makes no sense.

  • @SirNobleIZH
    @SirNobleIZH 2 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    I recently learned what the actual name for 0/0 is in Calculus. It's called an indeterminant, because it can give any answer. If we want to solve it, we need to know the function that created the 0/0, as they show. Then we take the derivative of the top and the bottom (separately), and try to divide again. We repeat until we don't get a 0/0

    • @maddoxmayo
      @maddoxmayo 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      L'Hopital's!

    • @cpotisch
      @cpotisch 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      That’s not quite accurate. An indeterminate form like 0/0 is entirely meaningless on its own and fundamentally can not be “solved” unless you’re talking about in terms of a limit.
      Furthermore, 0/0 isn’t the only such form, so your use of L’hopital often isn’t applicable.

    • @gamerdio2503
      @gamerdio2503 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@cpotisch All the other indeterminate forms can be turned into a 0/0 or inf/inf form, in which L'H can then be applicable

    • @cpotisch
      @cpotisch 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@gamerdio2503 e^x-x as x goes to infinity?

    • @gamerdio2503
      @gamerdio2503 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@cpotisch Fair enough. Most of the time, the indeterminate form can be converted into a form usable with L'H. Although, you can just use the fact that e^x grows faster than x to get a quick answer

  • @FishManChannel
    @FishManChannel 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1366

    ÷0 looks like a screaming person

  • @gekfurian
    @gekfurian 5 ปีที่แล้ว +122

    "Maybe this line goes all the way around and wraps around the entire universe and things come back up here"
    I'm having vertigo

    • @digitig
      @digitig 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Not surprising if you know the history of the projective plane...

    • @nanigopalsaha2408
      @nanigopalsaha2408 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@digitig *flashbacks

    • @StevenAyre1
      @StevenAyre1 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      I've always interpreted it as being positive and negative infinity and every possible number in-between.
      Not sure if that's valid though.

    • @oerlikon20mm29
      @oerlikon20mm29 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@StevenAyre1 yes, 1/0 is every number ever to be thought of at the same time...

  • @FanTazTiCxD
    @FanTazTiCxD 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    5:50 The look you get, when you're on a date with a mathematician

    • @Mr_Peachyy
      @Mr_Peachyy 14 วันที่ผ่านมา

      he’s rizzing us up 💀

  • @andrewdotsonexplains6948
    @andrewdotsonexplains6948 4 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    6:25 totally agree with that. I know that when I do a really intense calculation on Desmos, the calculator displays to me a message saying "definitions are nested too deeply"

  • @edgyspaghetti1122
    @edgyspaghetti1122 4 ปีที่แล้ว +174

    "And people will yell at me if i say its infinitely different" i lost it

  • @Number_055
    @Number_055 6 ปีที่แล้ว +233

    Most CPU's have a specific return code for "Divide by Zero Error", meaning it doesn't attempt to calculate as the error is handled at the CPU level.

    • @yvesisnotaname2813
      @yvesisnotaname2813 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Number_055 return 0;

    • @DanCojocaru2000
      @DanCojocaru2000 5 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      I think it's implemented at OS level. And older operating system just tried to subtract 0 from the number forever, forcing you to turn off the power and turn it on again.

    • @owlstead
      @owlstead 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@DanCojocaru2000 If you actually think that applications call the OS to perform calculations then you haven't got a clue what an operating system actually does and doesn't do. Division is not a system task, it can be performed by any application that is directly using the processor (CPU) at user level. Actually, most CPU's have division build right into them...sometimes incorrectly, check the Pentium bug (for floating point division).

    • @majormalfunction0071
      @majormalfunction0071 5 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      Specifically, it's a hardware trap (ie. hardware exception) generated by the CPU at the time of division, at least on x86 / x86-64.

    • @thatfield977
      @thatfield977 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Edit: I made a mistake in my original post, and I apologize. A divide-by-zero will return a "not a number" (NaN) result for a floating-point division. I don't know off the top of my head what result an integer division returns - this is something I should either look up or simply test - but the divide-by-zero register is still set, which can be queried to determine if an exception should be thrown. Floating point values may contain infinity and negative infinity as actual values, and if you want, you can treat a divide-by-zero as infinity, and I have in fact seen API's that do this, but generally speaking, you don't want a divide-by-zero to ever be a valid operation.
      Original post:
      @@majormalfunction0071 Intel CPU's will happily divide by zero and return either infinity or negative infinity, depending on the sign of the operation - they also differentiate between zero and negative zero; the sign is simply a bit in the return value. They will, however, as Number_055 noted, also set a "divide by zero" register notifying the application requesting the operation that a division by zero occurred, which the application may then treat any way it likes, including treating the operation as an exception and possibly crashing itself. I wholly agree that "infinity" is not a valid return value for a divide-by-zero, but the IEEE standards committee had to settle on something that would work from a technical standpoint.

  • @juliusking5126
    @juliusking5126 2 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    I still remember that day when I was in the middle school. Our math teacher, let us use 1 divide some positive numbers smaller and smaller, than we found the results bigger and bigger. Then we use negative numbers bigger and bigger, and the results were smaller and smaller. On that day all of us remembered we cannot use some numbers simply to divide 0.

  • @underrated1524
    @underrated1524 3 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    If I understand my computer science right, computers' physical arithmetic processing units throw errors when they're ordered to divide by zero, which would cause horrible breakage. In practice, though, the command to divide by zero is intercepted by stuff like the operating system long before it actually manages to reach the hardware.

  • @themarsquatch420
    @themarsquatch420 7 ปีที่แล้ว +848

    0 is my favorite number because it has no value, just like me.

    • @jsbaasi
      @jsbaasi 7 ปีที่แล้ว +42

      I read this and I laughed. Thank you very much for that laugh.
      :)

    • @spinn4ntier487
      @spinn4ntier487 6 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      ᎢᎻᎬᎠᎾᎠᎾ ᎬNᎢᎻᏌᏚᏆᎪᏚᎢ jokes on you, our numbers don't work without a concept of zero

    • @fredericofp
      @fredericofp 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      ᎢᎻᎬᎠᎾᎠᎾ ᎬNᎢᎻᏌᏚᏆᎪᏚᎢ CRAWLING IN MY CRAWL

    • @lukelouis4034
      @lukelouis4034 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Bad day?

    • @chhavigupta2802
      @chhavigupta2802 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Ooh ..hope that was limited to being a joke.

  • @poftim7773
    @poftim7773 6 ปีที่แล้ว +64

    When you asked the old Sinclair calculator from the 70s to divide by zero, it actually tried! It would give you multiple answers one after the other until eventually it spat the dummy, showed all the decimal points and locked the screen.

    • @benp9793
      @benp9793 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      spat the dummy? that isn't a phrase

    • @toodsf1
      @toodsf1 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Ben P it is in Straya

  • @brothermutant7370
    @brothermutant7370 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    That was beautifully explained.

  • @crushbeast29
    @crushbeast29 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    0 *exists*
    Numberphile: It's free real estate.

  • @DrummerRF
    @DrummerRF 9 ปีที่แล้ว +105

    The computer is actually taught to not divide by zero. There are many situations in software where dividing by zero is caught and protected against. My brother used to work in a hardware store and he had a computer that gave a 'divided by 0' blue screen. According to the story, he laughed insanely laud at that blue screen. Usually that doesn't happen but the computer had a defect RAM which fed corrupted data into the processor as it fetched the information to execute the micro programs. The processor actually had a build in protection to prevent dividing by zero, it stopped the operation and 'breached' away from its micro instruction to the error handling of windows which on its term showed the blue screen.
    In short, the computer doesn't even attempt to divide by zero. If you were to try and do it it would probably try to apply a form of implemented long devision which would obviously fail and I have no clue what it would return.

    • @htmlguy88
      @htmlguy88 9 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Robert sorry TH-cam isn't letting me post my own comments one thing I would note for the people at number phile is it's as easy as defining 0*y=0 y in the complex plane but not =0 so 0 divided by 0 makes no sense since you can turn it into y*0/y1*0 the 0's can be seen to cancel and then you get y/y1 for any values y,y1 and therefore can take on any of any infinite values.

    • @vitor.araujo25
      @vitor.araujo25 9 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      ***** Actually, I think that algorithm doesn't quite simulate a division by zero because, for any value you insert as a divisor (if you swapped "int(n) - 0" for ,say, "int(n) - 3", for example), you'd still have an infinite loop (because the condition for the while loop will always be true and there is no condition for it to actually stop).
      A true general algorithm for a division of integers would be something like that:
      -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      n = int(raw_input("Insert the dividend: "))
      m = int(raw_input("Insert the divisor: "))
      c = 0
      result = n
      while True:
      result -= m
      if result < 0:
      remainder = result + m
      break
      c += 1
      print c
      print "%d/%d = %d with a remainder of %d"%(n,m,c,remainder)
      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      If you insert 0 as the divisor, the "c" values will explode into infinity on the screen until you hit that close button, however, inserting other positive integer values would return normal division results. :D
      (also written in Python, because screw it, i'm on that lazy train too \o/)

    • @szlomajosif2711
      @szlomajosif2711 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Robert
      Dividng is reverse of multiplyin so:
      4/3 is
      4 * (1/3)
      and a proof of this is that:
      (4/3) * 3 = 4
      (a/b) * b = a
      so:
      if b = 0 and a is any N then a =/= a which as answer is not in set N because any a in this set is equal to itself
      (4/0) * 0 = 0 ==> 4=0
      The result of this nonsene came from the set. Any result on the corpus of N must result in the corpus of N and 0 is not in even in the set of N.

    • @robertfennis6088
      @robertfennis6088 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Szloma Josif Point being?

    • @szlomajosif2711
      @szlomajosif2711 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Robert Fennis
      Set dosent include result.
      Need a larger set with algebra over biger corpus with a diferent ring and more dimensions.
      And of course problem is solved, directX is working perfectly without gimbal lock on this wee issue of dividing by zero.

  • @atherahmed6397
    @atherahmed6397 5 ปีที่แล้ว +315

    I divided by zero and my calculator transformed into Optimus Prime and rolled out

  • @rainbowrain9895
    @rainbowrain9895 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Zero: Oh you’re approaching me?

  • @christopherrodriguez7157
    @christopherrodriguez7157 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    these videos are really interesting, great channel!!!

  • @JackLe1127
    @JackLe1127 10 ปีที่แล้ว +88

    If I had numberphile as my math professor, Vsauce as science, I would top the school.

    • @Super.AmmarI0
      @Super.AmmarI0 7 ปีที่แล้ว

      I don't think Vsauce knows curriculum science. He is only interested in the abstract and ambiguous topics of science.

  • @ospreytalon8318
    @ospreytalon8318 5 ปีที่แล้ว +473

    3:05 Noooooooooo!!!
    Draw infinity as a continuous loop not two circles!!!

    • @coconoisette
      @coconoisette 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      It's ugly

    • @disappointedcucumber
      @disappointedcucumber 4 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      @Al Gee Writing it as a continuous loop has a more comfortable flow than two separate circles

    • @toniokettner4821
      @toniokettner4821 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      two circles are not a lemniscate!

    • @CubyChrisAnimations
      @CubyChrisAnimations 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Yeah, the entire point of the symbol is being a literal neverending loop

    • @reinhardtsanchez7952
      @reinhardtsanchez7952 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      haha infinity go oo

  • @dushyanthabandarapalipana5492
    @dushyanthabandarapalipana5492 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks !Happy new year!

  • @chungus478
    @chungus478 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Dude who makes the infinity sign like that 3:09

  • @JackFou
    @JackFou 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1402

    For some reason, the way Matt writes his "x" is deeply unsettling to me.

    • @taunokekkonen5733
      @taunokekkonen5733 5 ปีที่แล้ว +91

      Shouldn't be allowed to work as a mathematician if you write x like he does LOL

    • @clarkeysam
      @clarkeysam 5 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      How else would you do it? Like a normal written x?

    • @taunokekkonen5733
      @taunokekkonen5733 5 ปีที่แล้ว +159

      @@clarkeysam yes, you cross two lines like a respectable human being.

    • @GeodesicBruh
      @GeodesicBruh 5 ปีที่แล้ว +198

      Tauno Kekkonen no, that x is anti calculus.
      You want a nice, curvy and sexy x.

    • @skylardeslypere9909
      @skylardeslypere9909 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      He writes it just like how you learn to write your x in cursive in second grade

  • @squee222
    @squee222 6 ปีที่แล้ว +49

    Mathematician: "you can't divide by zero"
    Engineer: "Just watch me!!!"

    • @JoeLinux2000
      @JoeLinux2000 5 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      That must be what Denny Pate, the designer of the FIU bridge did, and then the Boeing engineers that designed the 737MAX followed his lead.

    • @Rashidamin
      @Rashidamin 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Oh c'mon, it's usually the otherway round. Unlike mathematicians, engineers are too boarged down with deadlines and budget constraints that they hardly have any luxury to play with theories and concept. Otherwise the boss would show them the door 😅

  • @jsolivas1516
    @jsolivas1516 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I always hated math and no one I know likes it, but it is nice to see people with a real passion and love for maths/numbers to make it more interesting

  • @cdotstrife1
    @cdotstrife1 ปีที่แล้ว

    "it starts to fall apart when you go to the complex plain" perfectly sums up my brain at this point in the video.

  • @woofwoof7168
    @woofwoof7168 10 ปีที่แล้ว +93

    2:20 - 2:30 But 1/0 is equal to blue.

  • @DrDerp42
    @DrDerp42 10 ปีที่แล้ว +260

    If 1/0 equals infinity, the that means infinity times 0 equals 1, which is not possible.

    • @thanos486
      @thanos486 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      0χ(+-infinity) is an undefined number so it can be 1 as well

    • @yoavco246
      @yoavco246 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      You can't just treat infinity as any other number. It is an idea, not a value you can do operations on.

    • @thanos486
      @thanos486 7 ปีที่แล้ว

      I did not say that infinity is any number.I said 0x(infinity) is an undefined number so you dont know whether it is equal to 1 or not , therefore you can not say that 0x(infinity)=1 is an impossible equation, it is an undefined equation. And you can do operations on infinity. For example: (1/infinity)=0 and: (+infinity)(-infinity)=-infinity

    • @yoavco246
      @yoavco246 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      +Tomas Cena I was refering to the main comment :)

    • @folf
      @folf 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      DrDerp42
      This is a dangerous subject

  • @noellefinch6807
    @noellefinch6807 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    I love how old this video is in terms of how different Matt Parker is

  • @jerrydellasala7643
    @jerrydellasala7643 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    In the early 70's the first electronic calculator I got was a Casio, and if you tried to divide any number by 0, it would display all 9's (don't remember how many) and start counting down from that huge number! Entertaining...

  • @sixthSigmaSnowball
    @sixthSigmaSnowball 10 ปีที่แล้ว +29

    6:14 the answer for the calculator is defined by IEEE floating point standards and generally requires that software implement exception handling such that when the processors encounters a divide instruction with a zero operand it generates the divided-by-zero exception so the software can decide what to do.

  • @asmod9537
    @asmod9537 4 ปีที่แล้ว +31

    I met this channel a while ago, when i was in highschool and used to watch every video. Now, as i'm graduating in mathematics i come back and rewatch the same videos, but now in a different perspective. Numberphile was one of the main reasons i decided to study math in college, despite all flaws.

  • @IraizKaira
    @IraizKaira ปีที่แล้ว

    Thank you very much for the pleasure, I love math, it is such a beauty!

  • @NerdWithLaptop
    @NerdWithLaptop 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Matt: you can’t divide by 0
    Little kid: *gasps*
    James: *draws two circles to mean infinity*
    Me: *gasps*

  • @raoulhery
    @raoulhery 7 ปีที่แล้ว +267

    But if you push too hard...even numbers got LIMITS

    • @LongNguyen-pv9sm
      @LongNguyen-pv9sm 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      that because they set a limit in the first place, they set it to zero, if i don't set any limit, it would go forever

    • @anoukkadijk1656
      @anoukkadijk1656 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Salvador Allende those limits are "errors" (paradoxes) in the system we made

    • @ryadachaibou8098
      @ryadachaibou8098 7 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      He's quoting a Mos Def song called Mathematics.

    • @brendanotoole5871
      @brendanotoole5871 7 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      If you don't know, now you know...

    • @andrewmirror4611
      @andrewmirror4611 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      What about odd numbers, they got limits too?

  • @HayTatsuko
    @HayTatsuko 10 ปีที่แล้ว +48

    anything divided by zero = 42
    come on people! don't you know your DNA?

    • @SpectatorAlius
      @SpectatorAlius 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      You must be descended from the telephone sanitizer;)

    • @ATBPjako
      @ATBPjako 10 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      so zero = life?

    • @thatonetacobellguy
      @thatonetacobellguy 10 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      ATBPjako Since 0 can be defined as Nothing or None, 0 = 42 could mean "You have no life"

    • @julekmeister
      @julekmeister 10 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      If anything divided by 0 = 42 and 42 is the answer to the ultimate question, then anything divided by 0 (x\0) IS the ultimate question. That means that the answer to x\0 is the meaning of life and everything else. Come to think of it, lim x->0 = infinity (positive or negative) but never reaches 0 itself - it's composed of everything in the universe except for a point where there is nothing. Oh man, I don't know, if you catch my drift. I'll call it Caldoon-Adams-Julekmeister's Law of Relative Existence :)

    • @santerirautamaa9479
      @santerirautamaa9479 10 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Even the number of likes on your post has been divided by zero

  • @noob_techie2475
    @noob_techie2475 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    I noticed this many times that 0/0 tends to be anything in different cases but today i understood its real reason

  • @jtm1283
    @jtm1283 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I laughed when you said -- when dealing with the different values towards which 1/x tends when you start with positive vs negative one -- that maybe the value wraps around the entire world, such that positive infinity connects to negative infinity, because that is exactly how my high-school teacher explained tangents.

  • @Lord_Skeptic
    @Lord_Skeptic 4 ปีที่แล้ว +182

    I divided by 0 and my paper set on fire

    • @oerlikon20mm29
      @oerlikon20mm29 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Yea, I tried it on my Samsung 8 and it exploded

    • @memebeans1589
      @memebeans1589 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      BEANS

    • @Lord_Skeptic
      @Lord_Skeptic 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      No that is what 2 beans add 2 beans is

    • @Lord_Skeptic
      @Lord_Skeptic 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That is actually some beans

    • @Lord_Skeptic
      @Lord_Skeptic 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Or a really small casserole

  • @BaggyTheBloke
    @BaggyTheBloke 7 ปีที่แล้ว +80

    11:50 I see what you did there, NAUGHTy

    • @poggy9635
      @poggy9635 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      Freaky Fred :)))))

    • @thomasraahauge5231
      @thomasraahauge5231 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Who said that mathematicians can't be naughty?

  • @VapidVulpes
    @VapidVulpes ปีที่แล้ว

    There's something so wierdly soothing about the way matt writes X's

  • @erichbachman7363
    @erichbachman7363 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    2:10, thats one way of drawing an 'x'!

  • @user-so3eg1rw8l
    @user-so3eg1rw8l 4 ปีที่แล้ว +104

    From the software engineering perspective I'd say that I highly doubt that any commonly used calculator uses iterative process to get an answer for X/0. It's just a check in the code: if operation is division and second argument is 0 then print "Error". So, the first guess is much closer to reality

    • @leechbeen3283
      @leechbeen3283 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Definitely more likely. Calculators only really do addition and subtraction so if you tried to divide by zero it would keep subtracting by zero an infinite amount of times, just like they demonstrated in the video. Its gotta be programmed to check for a non zero number to keep it from entering an infinite loop, that seems like the best solution

    • @Stettafire
      @Stettafire 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      This is how most applications work, most of the time its baked into the compiler (Roslyn)

    • @patrickvolk7031
      @patrickvolk7031 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      It's normally an exception, stopping your execution. If you have a divide by zero in your equation and you don't stop, you're in la-la land. CPUs handle integer division (which give division by zero and overflow), languages have standard libraries for floating point. The standard is to have zero, NaN (Not a number), Inf, and -Inf as distinct results. Most calculators now have this as well (processors are very cheap).
      NaN is different than infinity. Infinity normally means it encountered a number which exceeded the maximum value (e.g. 300 factorial), and infinity times zero is zero. Any math operation using NaN gives you NaN as a result. You also can have exceptions for overflow/infinity, and there may be cases where you want to know when you underflow (if you have x and y, which are not zero, but you get zero because the number is too small.. that's not normally one you worry about).
      A difficult problem in programming is when you have a one-off problem, where it goes into la-la land, and takes a few steps before it dies. Math is one of those things.

    • @hareecionelson5875
      @hareecionelson5875 ปีที่แล้ว

      Unless someone forgets to tell the computer not to attempt the subtraction, in which case the computer may crash, which happened to an American warship, computers down for a day

    • @mdsharfuddinmd5710
      @mdsharfuddinmd5710 ปีที่แล้ว

      Happy New year sir

  • @EpicB
    @EpicB 8 ปีที่แล้ว +112

    0^0=Spaghetti

    • @paein9642
      @paein9642 8 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Hm I thought it was banana

    • @protoxus8186
      @protoxus8186 8 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      +Bearboy03
      No, 0^Spaghetti is Banana. You were close, though. :)

    • @shekharmaela2308
      @shekharmaela2308 8 ปีที่แล้ว

      +Naveek Darkroom 0^0 = 0

    • @shehabkhan637
      @shehabkhan637 8 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      +Marcus Johnson Lol - Unless you are having fun, 0 ^ 0 is not 0 :P it's.............................1

    • @shehabkhan637
      @shehabkhan637 8 ปีที่แล้ว

      +Marcus Johnson - You sound like a guy back in the 17th Century, "0 is nothing"??????????? Just...wow... I laughed quite a lot when i read that... You made my day XD

  • @JoeAguado
    @JoeAguado 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    These are the things that keep me up at night

  • @C0ttageChees
    @C0ttageChees 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I know it's a bit late, but thank you very much for this knowledge and presentation :)

  • @MumboJ
    @MumboJ 6 ปีที่แล้ว +415

    I consider 0/0 to be a feature, not a bug.
    Simple Algebraic Rearrangement tells us:
    If Anything * 0 = 0,
    Then 0 / 0 = Anything.
    Intuitively, 0 / 0 represents the question "what number can you multiply by 0 to get 0", to which the answer is clearly "Anything".

    • @markkoehr5003
      @markkoehr5003 6 ปีที่แล้ว +61

      If 0/0=1 and 0/0=2 then 1=2 by the transitive property. If you allow that, the you can say that every number is equal to each other.

    • @MumboJ
      @MumboJ 6 ปีที่แล้ว +115

      The transitive property doesn't always work that way.
      √1 = 1 and √1 = -1, but 1 ≠ -1

    • @markkoehr5003
      @markkoehr5003 6 ปีที่แล้ว +43

      MumboJ the square root symbol like that that is a function. when you use the square root symbol like that you are taking the principle root which is always positive. You mean to right x^2=1 which has to possible solutions that make that statement true. If you want the negative value you have to put the negative sign in front.

    • @MumboJ
      @MumboJ 6 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      Which is exactly how 0/0 works.
      It is a rearrangement of 0x=0, to which anything is a solution.
      Function Symbols are often used to represent this concept, and the phrasing I used was not incorrect.

    • @awawpogi3036
      @awawpogi3036 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      MumboJ a square root of a number can be either positive or negative. Its because both positive squared and negative squared are positive. Example: √1=±1
      √4=±2
      √2≈±1.414

  • @zerocalvin
    @zerocalvin 8 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    1/0=Blue... i'm going to write that next time i write a calculator program..

  • @laurence090
    @laurence090 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Matt, the mad, lad using the whole word ‘anything’ as a variable name @6:55

  • @johankotze42
    @johankotze42 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    An interesting thing r.e. this divide by 0, is how you can handle it on the HP 49 and 50 calculators. They have a flag for divide by zero; you can set it to either produce an error or to result in the largest number the calculator can handle.

  • @reapinit8777
    @reapinit8777 4 ปีที่แล้ว +198

    Drawing X as two half circles?
    Classic Parker Square.

    • @Bignic2008
      @Bignic2008 3 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Lots of people do this. You pick up handwriting habits like this so you can more easily distinguish between symbols that look the same. x and the symbol for cross products, for example, look similar and will confuse people unless you draw the letter x as half circles.

    • @smockboy
      @smockboy 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      This is a relatively common convention tbh. It was specifically adopted so that 'x' would be more readily distinguishable from the multiplication symbol in mathematical proofs and textbooks. A common alternative was to use * as the multiplication symbol, as most scientific calculators do.

    • @ineednochannelyoutube5384
      @ineednochannelyoutube5384 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      That looks more like a khi

    • @reapinit8777
      @reapinit8777 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@Bignic2008 thats actually pretty cool. Definetivly reasonable. 👍

    • @reapinit8777
      @reapinit8777 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@smockboy makes sense and is smart 👍

  • @suddenrushsarge
    @suddenrushsarge 9 ปีที่แล้ว +860

    OH GOD NO... He's gonna divide by zer....................

    • @EE-wo5ty
      @EE-wo5ty 8 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      +Sarge!!! BOOOM

    • @maximo1590
      @maximo1590 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      Dewey russian kh/ch -Хх

    • @pepe6666
      @pepe6666 6 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      hey i heard someone divided by zero. is everyone okay?

    • @noahdavid5258
      @noahdavid5258 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      (Bomb explodes)

    • @m_affiliates
      @m_affiliates 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      ⚫️

  • @mikemooney83
    @mikemooney83 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    CONGRATULATIONS MATT ON
    1M SUBSCRIBERS!

  • @Yegaung100
    @Yegaung100 ปีที่แล้ว

    The best crossover you can wish for.

  • @Hypastpist
    @Hypastpist 10 ปีที่แล้ว +53

    im surprised they didn't explode

  • @Bayar-oe7rj
    @Bayar-oe7rj 4 ปีที่แล้ว +131

    Infinity is not a numbah...
    It can't be treated like a numbah...
    I love that guy 😂😂😂

    • @MrPianoKnee
      @MrPianoKnee 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Infinity is certainly not here but it is certainly over yonder.

    • @areadenial2343
      @areadenial2343 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      In many cases, zero can't be treated like a number either. So should we just say it's not a number and call it a day?

    • @Ph0n3numb3r
      @Ph0n3numb3r 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@areadenial2343 but zero is defined, its when there is nothing. But infinity is undefined, because no value can represent it. "Oh, the biggest number is 10^99999", "well, what if i add +1?".

    • @areadenial2343
      @areadenial2343 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@Ph0n3numb3r You're half right... no *finite* value can represent it. Because you can't represent an infinite value with something finite, who would have thought? Really, infinity is the opposite of zero. Zero represents nothingness, a lack of value. Infinity represents eternity, a never ending value. So, a 1 followed by a never ending trail of zeroes. It just keeps going, forever.

    • @mariafe7050
      @mariafe7050 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      *number

  • @Litl_E
    @Litl_E 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    "Sometimes, when you divide by 0, you could get 5." - My calc teacher.

  • @bartsola8349
    @bartsola8349 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Perfectly subtle dig at Matt by James there :D

  • @SebvdBergh
    @SebvdBergh 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    I think James' first description is pretty much perfect. You just keep subtracting a number until you get to zero. If you did 20 - 0 an infinite number of times, you'd still end up with 20, because every step leaves you with 20. So infinity essentially has no effect on subtracting (or dividing by) zero.

  • @FlyNavy906
    @FlyNavy906 8 ปีที่แล้ว +132

    Dividing by zero is such a Parker Square move.

    • @M00nSlippers
      @M00nSlippers 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      lol, only numberphile fans will get this.

  • @grantpowell4137
    @grantpowell4137 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    I wish they were my high school math teachers! They make their lessons so easy to understand.

  • @Mswordx23
    @Mswordx23 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The intuitive way I think about division by zero not being infinity: treat division like the number of subtractions from a number to get to zero (like in the video). Keep in mind that there are infinite processes that give sensible answers, like Sum of 1/2^n from 0 to infinity equals 2. However, even if you take away zero from a number an infinite number of times you still wouldn't get to zero. Therefore, there can't be an answer to a number divided by zero. Similarly, 0/0 can be interpreted as any number for the same reason.