The unsolved equation

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Solid Snake
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The unsolved equation

Post by Solid Snake » Fri Feb 13, 2009 6:28 pm

Let's see if you guys can solve it.

Yes I know the answer was given, but still... try to work it out on here, and explain where Billy got it wrong!
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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by ::Jon:: » Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:54 pm

42 ?

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Shadowy Flight » Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:06 pm

The answer's simple, you have to subtract 3000 from GTKR then add 2000 to the TA and that = Knight Rider!
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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by NeoRanger » Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:54 pm

The solution is right there on the wall. The α and β are merely a technicality.

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Chazsza » Sat Feb 14, 2009 8:24 am

i dont think billy got it wrong i think he just forgot to put the negative sign on cuz he was busy tryin to impress lol
so much for being the smart one..
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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Solid Snake » Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:46 am

Please refrain from the not very funny 2000 puns, the 3000 is the new KITT and I am loving it PERIOD :twisted: :good: !

But I mean, try to solve it... here, show the actual math :D let's see if there is any Billy's here...

It is pretty simple yes... but still :D.
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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by lunchmeat » Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:09 pm

This is a quadratic equation - it's solved by the quadratic formula, which is underneath. What I don't understand is why the kid has two values for x - why x1 and x2?

Oh, wait, never mind....I didn't notice the plus/minus in the quadratic formula. Used to writing it with the plus/minus sign. Well....here we go.

Need a calculator for this...don't want to multiply thousandths by hand.

Wait. going through the formula....under the radical, that should be a minus sign, not a plus sign. Is that the mistake you were looking for?
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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by blazevski » Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:17 pm

it's simple maths yes buuut if I was Billy who was holding phone in his hand... I just couldn't be bothered... take a pic with phone and let KITT do the work :)
Btw... how did KITT know Billy forgot something when calculating?? I mean KITT didn't see the equation...

EDIT: Umm yeah I went through the equation too and noticed the negative under sqrt buuut... this can be solved imaginary right?? Well thats where I gave up :) can't be bothered

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by lunchmeat » Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:31 pm

blazevski wrote:Btw... how did KITT know Billy forgot something when calculating?? I mean KITT didn't see the equation...
KI3T had the numbers and probably just used a hueristic analysis to figure out that one of the signs might be missing. Basically, he took the numbers he had and compared them to his current location....and with common sense realized that flipping one of the signs would yield a better result. All he had to do was confirm his suspicion with Billy.

x1 = -31.3738
x2 = -137.2282

(assuming that B was 4098.4812, not 4048....that kid has sloppy handwriting)
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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by blazevski » Sat Feb 14, 2009 12:45 pm

um... ur right... first it turned out to be coordinates of sumething in china so guess KITT just did some comparing...

so u took B as positive? cuz thats the only way I see it could get solved unless u wanna have 4 results all with "i" in em which is nothing like coordinates :)

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by lunchmeat » Sat Feb 14, 2009 1:14 pm

Wait, that isn't right. I forgot to multiply B by the coefficient beneath the radical.

Good to know that my "overlook" function is still as efficient as it was in 6th grade. ><
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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by DavidKnight » Sat Feb 14, 2009 3:27 pm

Well i solved it and it's the same as in the show. I drawed this in paint and I'm not good at computer drawing as you can see :D
However i have no idea how could Billy solve it without a calculator...

(right click on the picture-->Show Picture. It's too wide and doesnt fit in to the forum.)

Image

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Solid Snake » Sat Feb 14, 2009 6:32 pm

You are close DavidKnight, but incorrect... as you can see Beta= -4048.4812 and not 4048.4812... and when you use the negative figure you can not calculate it... so someone will just drop it and think the equation is wrong, hence Billy saying to put the criminals off... you are close though David, but the way you got it is not correct (I THINK)... come on :D try and look at it again, this is fun!

I got my Knerd on I guess.

(Pun intended)
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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Sue » Sun Feb 15, 2009 3:02 am

Solid Snake wrote: It is pretty simple yes... but still :D.
Easy :?: :P
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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by DavidKnight » Sun Feb 15, 2009 3:27 am

I thaught it's obvious.

Image

As you can see, the incorrect part is the "+4ß" It should be written this way: "-4xß". Let me explain why with some images i did in rush:

Image

Image

"a" is 1 this time, "b" is alpha, "c" is "ß". if you put the numbers into the quadratic formula you can realise that under the radical the equation will look like this: 84.301^2 - 4xßx1(as "a" is 1 this time, but we dont write it down usually)
Because of the two negative signs (dont forget that beta will be -4048.4812) it will change to a plus sign. Damn it's hard to explain when you arent a native speaker.
On the wall you can see +4ß. Thats incorrect, it should look like this: -4ß
Hope thats what you were looking for. There's no other mistake in the equation.

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Knight007 » Sun Feb 15, 2009 4:43 am

I never thought of solving it. I am not that good in this type of things any way :lol: Image :kitt:

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Dr. Graiman » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:36 am

poor Billy. He had to solve it. Why couldn't have Kitt solve it right from the start? Kitt got the coordinates from billy and was able to recalculate +/- etc. How is this possible without having seen the equation? :roll:

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Knight007 » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:48 am

Dr. Graiman wrote:poor Billy. He had to solve it. Why couldn't have Kitt solve it right from the start? Kitt got the coordinates from billy and was able to recalculate +/- etc. How is this possible without having seen the equation? :roll:
because when billy gave the answer to KITT the location was somewhere in China. So logicaly, KITT added the - to the number and it all made since. now he is got to go few Miles more insted of half the globe Image :kitt:

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Dr. Graiman » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:53 am

...but that would make a negative coordinate on the map?

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Knight007 » Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:48 am

Dr. Graiman wrote:...but that would make a negative coordinate on the map?
I am sorry, I didnt get what you mean? Image :kitt:

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Dr. Graiman » Sun Feb 15, 2009 7:59 am

Think i got it....
Negative latitude is south.
Negative Longitude is West.

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Solid Snake » Sun Feb 15, 2009 3:49 pm

DavidKnight wrote:I thaught it's obvious.

Image

As you can see, the incorrect part is the "+4ß" It should be written this way: "-4xß". Let me explain why with some images i did in rush:

Image

Image

"a" is 1 this time, "b" is alpha, "c" is "ß". if you put the numbers into the quadratic formula you can realise that under the radical the equation will look like this: 84.301^2 - 4xßx1(as "a" is 1 this time, but we dont write it down usually)
Because of the two negative signs (dont forget that beta will be -4048.4812) it will change to a plus sign. Damn it's hard to explain when you arent a native speaker.
On the wall you can see +4ß. Thats incorrect, it should look like this: -4ß
Hope thats what you were looking for. There's no other mistake in the equation.
Exactly! That is what I wanted to see! Congralulations DavidKnight! You got it right now :good: , the explanation is exactly correct. The -Alpha sign is to be made positive by multiplying the entire equation with - Which will convert the + under the square root to a -, which in turn makes - X Beta= a positive number enabling the equation to be solved!
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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Knight007 » Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:51 am

this is interesting if you think about it. the writers used this way to make the viewers think and discuss about the equation!!! I like these little ideas that seem to be small, but has a big effect on the events of the show. Image :kitt:

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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by Sky_Blue_Civic » Thu Feb 19, 2009 2:05 am

You have a point there...In a way,it's a tool to create some "buzz" in the fandom, or could be used as a simple and cheap way to promote the show.
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Re: The unsolved equation

Post by gromia77 » Fri Feb 20, 2009 6:55 pm

I hate to nitpick again but when re-watching the ep I noticed Kitt made an error (what he made an error? :o ) According to Billy the first co-ordinate was 34.499 but it clearly says 34.999 on the HUD. :!:

How big of a distance would that be geographically? And they still found the right place...

Sorry if this annoyes you guys but I just pay attention to such details :oops:

Maybe Kitt was so annoyed at Mike that he didn't notice :lol:
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