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Wikenigma is an encyclopedia for topics with unknown answers

wikenigma.org.uk

41–50 of 77 posts

Re: Wikenigma is an encyclopedia for topics with unknown answers

#41
post #38
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you reject Cantor's proof then? That takes mathematical bollocks.

Without wishing to defend it, the gotcha here is "numbers you name". Rational numbers are "named" by putting together a string of digits. That is not possible for the irrationals so the only ones we can name are a handful with alphabetic names. There are more sheep in a field than those. I think Cantor can rest peacefully.

Extend alphabetical names to alphabetical descriptions and you have a countable number of irrationals.

It's a bit suspicious that we can't name or describe any of the uncountable irrational numbers, isn't it? Not even a single example.

Cantor's proof is not constructive. It doesn't name an example. If you enumerated all irrationals based on the algorithm required to calculate them then the contradiction in Cantor's diagonalization proof just turns into a failure to terminate. But that suggests that there are fewer irrationals than integers, not more.

Re: Wikenigma is an encyclopedia for topics with unknown answers

#42
post #31
post #23

Wouldn't a sub-wiki on Wikipedia for topics with unknown answers serve the purpose better? Interesting concept though.

Wikipedia already has articles covering unsolved problems for at least physics and presumably other fields too

Yes. I was thinking in the lines of Karp's 21 NP-complete problems or Hilbert's problems. There is indeed a Lists of unsolved problems page in Wikipedia itself (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_unsolved_problems). That is why the Wikenigma site in the original post sounded a bit redundant, though nothing wrong with a wiki focused on just that.

Re: Wikenigma is an encyclopedia for topics with unknown answers

#43
post #39

Always a favourite of mine: we still don’t know how Paracetamol works. https://wikenigma.org.uk/content/medicine/drugs/paracetamol

Yikes, 80k overdoses per year which can result in stomach lining damage?

Are some medicines not worth the downside for society to have available?

Re: Wikenigma is an encyclopedia for topics with unknown answers

#45
post #39

Always a favourite of mine: we still don’t know how Paracetamol works. https://wikenigma.org.uk/content/medicine/drugs/paracetamol

Isn’t acetaminophen similar in that we also don’t know how exactly it works?

Paracetamol and acetaminophen are the same drug, so yes you are correct.

America and Japan refer to the drug as acetaminophen, while most of the rest of the world calls it paracetamol.

Re: Wikenigma is an encyclopedia for topics with unknown answers

#46
post #39

Always a favourite of mine: we still don’t know how Paracetamol works. https://wikenigma.org.uk/content/medicine/drugs/paracetamol

Yikes, 80k overdoses per year which can result in stomach lining damage? Are some medicines not worth the downside for society to have available?

The wiki doesn't cite a source that I see. But I looks like that may be recent misinformation

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/politifact/202...

Re: Wikenigma is an encyclopedia for topics with unknown answers

#47
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without wishing to defend it, the gotcha here is "numbers you name". Rational numbers are "named" by putting together a string of digits. That is not possible for the irrationals so the only ones we can name are a handful with alphabetic names. There are more sheep in a field than those. I think Cantor can rest peacefully.

Extend alphabetical names to alphabetical descriptions and you have a countable number of irrationals. It's a bit suspicious that we can't name or describe any of the uncountable irrational numbers, isn't it? Not even a single example. Cantor's proof is not constructive. It doesn't name an example. If you enumerated all irrationals based on the algorithm required to calculate them then the contradiction in Cantor's d…

If you reduce the irrationals to those which can be named you are probably right. I think I said that before.

Re: Wikenigma is an encyclopedia for topics with unknown answers

#48
post #39

Always a favourite of mine: we still don’t know how Paracetamol works. https://wikenigma.org.uk/content/medicine/drugs/paracetamol

> Recent research suggests that Paracetamol does have a marginal effect for pain relief - but only in around 25% of individuals - and that its beneficial action in others is due to placeboeffects.

Re: Wikenigma is an encyclopedia for topics with unknown answers

#49
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mediawiki is some of the worst software ever developed, no sane person would use it. This site is using https://dokuwiki.org

I don't love mediawiki software, starting with PHP, but it's indisputable that it is one of the most successful software platforms in the world, and it has quite an extensive ecosystem. But thank you for pointing out that it's docuwiki that is attempting to inappropriately ride the mediawiki coattails and muddling use. The fact this site is starting out without the basic feature of categories is a grave mistake. Mayb…

[deleted]

Re: Wikenigma is an encyclopedia for topics with unknown answers

#50

I noticed this on the page about infinity: > Are some infinities larger than others? But didn't Cantor prove the answer to that is "yes" back in the 19th century?

https://wikenigma.org.uk/content/philosophy/infinity

Also:

> If a mathematician wants to explore infinity, there are many options - for example by calculating π, or the square root of 2, or dividing any number by 0.

Er, one of these things is not like the others…

This clearly wasn't written by a mathematician.

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