The contestants would all meet at the annual "Math Slam" event while the other students are out dating and having fun.
They'd present their hand typed, (this is very important) math equation that shows a final answer of 1. They'd load their entry into the projector and it would be shown next to a object used for scale. For instance a thousand word problem might be shown next to an orange, a ten thousand word problem shown next to a cow etc.
Then the computer checks the math and verifies the answer is indeed one, and shows the number of characters used. Longest one wins.
Rules:
1- You can't just say "One plus three minus three plus three, minus three..." thousands of times, in fact, you can't repeat any one equation or number. Each number and equation needs to be next to a different number or equation.
2- You obviously can't use a computer or AI to come up with your equation, it has to be created my you. Only tool allowed is a word processor. You can use hand written notes if you like.
3- You must be over 25 years old an a virgin although this would go without saying.-- doctorremulac3, Nov 06 2023 Here's a nice entry: https://qr.ae/pKCNO1 [doctorremulac3, Nov 06 2023] We have a winner! Wait, scratch that! https://qr.ae/pKCN6xUntil I found out who this guy is. Talk about disqualified, Jesus. [doctorremulac3, Nov 06 2023] Maths can fix everything https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/bah-4 [a1, Nov 06 2023] So you have to do a single math, which gets the answer 1
But that single math has to be as long as possible
Sounds tricky.
Here's my submission:
1.999999999999999999999999999 - 0.999999999999999999999999999 = 1-- pocmloc, Nov 06 2023 1.9999999999999999999999999999 - 0.9999999999999999999999999999 = 1I can see a flaw in this idea...-- hippo, Nov 06 2023 Can't have repeating numbers like that.
Each number and equation needs to be next to a different number or equation.
73^3 + 144^3 - 150^3 = 389,017 + 2,985,984 - 3,375,000 = 1
would be acceptable, but would lose out to:
wait, it's too long to post, stand by...
Okay see link, and marvel at the fact that this is already been baked, although not as a contest per se, but people trying to come up with impressive math equations that equal one.
So to be clear, the idea for contestants to show their entries in a hall full of their fellow virgins on a Friday night to win cash and prizes.-- doctorremulac3, Nov 06 2023 Okay, we have a winner, see link.-- doctorremulac3, Nov 06 2023 HOLY SHIT! I just looked up who this guy is! He's a fucking pederast!
Ugh! That took an un-fun turn.
Okay, I don't like this idea anymore. [-]-- doctorremulac3, Nov 06 2023 They are all using more than one math. If you want to permit that kind of thing it needs to be called maths competition-- pocmloc, Nov 06 2023 You mean have Mike Tyson announce it?-- doctorremulac3, Nov 06 2023 I think it's almost trivially easy to make arbitrarily complicated formula equal one, as the example you linked demonstrated.
Depending on your scoring criterion, you'd just get massive single random-string numbers raised to the power zero, arbitrary strings of constants raised to the power zero, random equations raised to the power zero, or similar.
For a similar reason, it would be fairly straightforward to break any computer-based evaluation. There's one number which doesn't equal one when raised to the power zero, and that's zero itself (which is undefined). Therefore, to actually confirm any calculation of the form (a-b)^0 does actually equal one, you do technically need to evaluate a-b. And it's pretty easy to address numbers we don't have any practical way to calculate, like Busy-Beaver(99999) - which is ridiculously huge - and probably a million other gochas.-- Loris, Nov 06 2023 PI divided by zero.-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Nov 07 2023 //I think it's almost trivially easy to make arbitrarily complicated formula equal one, as the example you linked demonstrated.//
Right, but this gives math nerds something to do on a Friday night.-- doctorremulac3, Nov 07 2023 We're washing our hair.
It needs it, what with the dandruff.-- pertinax, Nov 07 2023 Believe it or not, that half year I actually went to high school I was in honors math and was blown away by how usless it was in the age of the computer. After every answer on every test I'd say to myself "So?".
And as every honest math teacher answers when I asked if you'll ever use this stuff my guy said "No, but..."
I forget what he said after that.-- doctorremulac3, Nov 07 2023 In the Redbrick universities, Maths is a useful companion discipline to Engineering
At Cambridge, Maths is a useful companion discipline to physics
At Oxford, Maths is part of the Fine Arts. (this is true, on graduation Oxford mathematicians are awarded an MA degree)-- pocmloc, Nov 07 2023 That being said, teasing mathers aside, I see that some folks are already doing this online. Might be fun to have a contast for them.
But hey, the first bone was mine so I totally understand.-- doctorremulac3, Nov 07 2023 random, halfbakery