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From: eepjm@cc.newcastle.edu.au
Newsgroups: comp.edu,sci.math,sci.misc
Subject: Re: Subtle Math Questions
Message-ID: <1991Apr26.150342.10044@cc.newcastle.edu.au>
Date: 26 Apr 91 05:03:42 GMT
References: <1991Apr22.235606.10856@ms.uky.edu> <1991Apr23.163231.27780@beaver.cs.washington.edu> <1991Apr23.144230.14500@mailer.cc.fsu.edu> <1991Apr23.214223.7549@wimsey.bc.ca>
Organization: University of Newcastle, AUSTRALIA
Lines: 24

In article <1991Apr23.214223.7549@wimsey.bc.ca>, balden@wimsey.bc.ca
  (Bruce Balden) writes:
> What is so "natural" about natural logarithms, considering that their base
> cannot be conveniently written down exactly?

Not a very tricky question, given that the answer is standard high-school
material.

> If you write 10^10^10 in ordinary 10-point type, will the answer string around
> the yard, around the planet, around the solar system, or to the next star?

(10^10)^10, or 10^(10^10)?  It makes a big difference.

> (for mathematical physicists) Name four principles of physics violated in each
> and every episode of Star Trek.

Aha, at last a *very* tricky question.  The correct answer is, of course,
"I don't know".  Any other response will get you labelled as the sort of
moron who actually watches Star Trek.

(Watches? Watched? Is this still running? It must be 25 years since I last
 saw an episode of this.)

Peter Moylan                         eepjm@cc.newcastle.edu.au