--- In quizbowl_at_yahoogroups.com, "Jordan Boyd-Graber <jordanbg_at_y...>" <jordanbg_at_y...> wrote: > > > The rough equivalent in my field would > > be discussing the differences between spectra expected from > > bremsstrahlung and synchrotron emissions from an astrophysical plasma, > > which I learned (though don't necessarily remember) in an astro. class Not at all. Both the questions discussed in this thread - "closed" and "surjective" - are extremely basic. The equivalent in your field would be closer to "star" or "plasma." Anyone who's had a real math class (no, calculus is not real math, but I for one recall hearing the word "surjective" in some pre-calculus high school class) will know these terms and be able to define them. By loudly proclaiming your ignorance, you've made it clear that not everyone who's had a real astrophysics class knows the difference in bremsstrahlung and synchrotron emission spectra. (Hint: one should have a power-law form, the other should not, if I'm not wildly mistaken). Hence the two are not comparable in difficulty. > I dunno. I think that set theory has wider applications than that. > Everybody in my frosh math course learned the definitions of closed, > compact, and open sets. This isn't set theory. It's topology. Most sets don't have that much structure. > I would think that any > mathematically rigorous education (regardless of the eventual major) > would talk about these things at some point because of their > importance in probability and the philisophical underpinnings of math. The philosophical underpinnings of math have little to do with the definitions of closed sets. Set theory itself is too specific for a foundation of math, really. Some people like to talk about universes and topoi and other such things, but I don't. Their importance as "philosophical underpinnings" certainly doesn't justify writing tossups on them, because such tossups would be nearly impossible (even for those graced with Ph.D.'s in astrophysics, I'm afraid).
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0: Sat 12 Feb 2022 12:30:46 AM EST EST