@Bcyy

It's of course my choice to share my profession: I'm sure a little googling will find me without trouble. The idea is not so disturbing to me however. Don't waste time feeling guilty about your choice!

I'm on my phone so will just answer your questions quickly. The first is a deep problem known as the continuum hypothesis. It's the first of Hilbert's problems and is worth a million dollars. Unfortunately, it has been proven that a proof doesn't exist in a standard form of math.

Calculus of variations can handle your second problem, no worries: look up Lagrange multiplier.

Happy to answer any further questions, hope the above help.

bcyy
Sat Sep 15 02:10:45 2012

@Glen:

Thanks! It certainly did help!

Re: Hilbert's problem
Ah, yes. I've just found the corresponding page on wiki. Not so familiar with Zermelo–Fraenkel set theory, though. I guess it must be a faulty bit of my memory then...

Re: Lagrange multiplier
But how should I deal with the dg/dt? Another problem: if, say, F=t+g+g(dg/dt), how should I solve for g(t)? I only know how to use Lagrange multipliers to obtain the point of maximum of f=f(x,y) under some constraint, for which the answer is a couple of numbers, not a form of g=g(t).

bcyy
Sat Sep 15 02:17:29 2012

@Glen:

Actually, scrap that bit about the second problem. I just realised that applying the Euler-Lagrange equation always leaves constants which can be found by applying the constraint. Thanks anyway!

Glen
Sat Sep 15 09:08:47 2012

@bcyy

Depending on the exact problem you're considering, the Lagrange Multiplier always ends up depending again on your critical point. This can lead to some fairly hefty technical issues; in my own work, this comes about as a non-local factor in the Euler-Lagrange equation, which is also fairly typical.

Good luck with your work.

C-Star
Sun Sep 16 07:52:22 2012

God, and I'm still getting caught out by trigonometry and differential calculus (not the basic parts of them obviously, just the more complex parts.).

Glen
Sun Sep 16 13:57:15 2012

@C-Star

Don't worry, trigonometry and calculus stretch all the way to research level, and can provide a challenge for anybody!

C-Star
Sun Sep 16 20:34:04 2012

Yeah just gotta keep at it I guess. Maybe one day I'll look back on this page and understand your conversation!

SCC
Mon Sep 17 00:03:01 2012

While Final Fantasy is a bit of a factor in this site's anonymity (no offense to the poor webmaster! It's a good site, a hidden gem if you will.) But I can't imagine people who aren't already Fighting Fantasy fans visiting this website. I'd imagine most of said fans would have been kids during Fighting Fantasy's genesis back in the 80's. I think Steve Jackson (or was it Ian Livingstone, I Can't quite remember) put it really good himself when talking about the Blood of The Zombies launch. I don't have the exact quote, but he said he was expecting it to be full of 34 year olds saying it's for their kids. Most of the old fans of my generation grew out of it and replaced chasing warlocks and fighting demons with chasing girls and fighting away other lads! Me... well lets just say I failed *a lot* of LUCK rolls...

You got it in one. Every so often someone brings this up and it always holds true. The majority of FF fans now were reading the original books then. Well done C-Star.

C-Star
Mon Sep 17 16:03:10 2012

Um, thanks? Well from the ages people have given and their ridiculous knowledge of maths, it seems I'm about seven years younger than everyone else on this site. Feels odd...

You guys clearly still love FF, but I can't imagine too many of the more recently made fans still being fans. Wonder what the difference was? Maybe FF was beaten by the more modern video games as a preferred source of entertainment? Just a theory, but I think it makes sense anyway.

Robert Douglas
Mon Sep 17 16:30:36 2012

@ C-Star,

I'm afraid Glen and yourself lost me with all that math jargon (it was never one of my strong points at school, but I've learned enough to get by ie, fractions, decimals, measurements, etc). But if people start talking calculus or quantum physics, my brain glosses over!

As regards to your comment on video games: yes, ironically FF's gameplay elements contributed towards a basis for the next generation in RPG games - which turned out to be ones such as Knights of the Old Republic, Fallout 3, especially Oblivion and World of Warcraft, including many others which have gameplay based around weapons, items, armour, abilities, etc. Some still rely on a scoring system (in KOTOR, combat die rolls are often kept behind the scenes).

FPS games are essentially in-depth 3-D versions of arcade games from the 1970's: you're still shooting things up! More powerful processors brought fantastic graphics and complex game engines into existence, also allowing for credible real-world physics, lighting, shadows, etc. It brings a more visual/audible experience to games than gamebooks ever will. However, gamebooks do help younger fans with their reading, fuel their imagination, make them responsible of choices made and consequences. So: I believe there's still a place for gamebooks for a while yet. And I do enjoy writing them! ;)

bcyy
Mon Sep 17 16:58:47 2012

@ Glen:

Thanks! GL with your work too!

@ Everyone else:

IMHO, gamebooks can never be fully replaced by computer/video games. The comparison is analogous to that between novels and movies: a movie always has the better graphics, but the information resolution at which the corresponding novel is written almost always surpasses that of the movie.

C-Star
Mon Sep 17 20:41:21 2012

I do agree that there will always be a place for gamebooks. I can't have been the only child to never grow out of them! I'm just not sure they're as popular now as they were back in the day. But I wasn't around during the 80's, so I wouldn't really know...

Robert Douglas
Tue Sep 18 09:10:03 2012

Apart from Spectrum and Commodore 64 computer games, there wasn't really much else back in the 80's apart from tabletop roleplaying (started in the 70's), model soldiers, and Fighting Fantasy. We didn't have the internet nor sleek mobile phones like we do now.

C-Star
Tue Sep 18 16:14:03 2012

I always wanted to try one of those tabletop roleplaying games, but I don't know anyone at all that likes RPG's. Seriously, once I went to Gamestop to buy a new Final Fantasy game for the PSP and they had to actually order one copy in just for me because none of their customers were looking for it!

(For all you curious people out there, the game was Dissidia Duodecim, and it was awesome. Except for the plot, which sucked.)

And btw, I just *have* to ask this. The answer to this question is so obvious that it probably counts as a rhetorical question, but I'm asking it anyway.

Do *any* girls go on this site?

...Told you it was a stupid question.

Robert Douglas
Tue Sep 18 17:38:07 2012

@ C-Star,

If there are, I'd bet you anything they'd want to keep their gender secret. But I'm guessing there must be at least one or two female fans in circles like this one.

Glen
Tue Sep 18 20:22:04 2012

Ulysses always struck me as rather feminine :D. (No offense intended Mr. Ai!)

Robert Douglas
Tue Sep 18 23:06:32 2012

Honestly: do I strike anyone as feminine? When it comes to writing style I suppose some men are more feminine than others.

Hang on, I've lost my handbag somewhere...

Glen
Wed Sep 19 08:37:55 2012

I don't claim to have any idea about the true gender of people on an anonymous internet guestbook, but my radar remains firmly rooted in the "masculine" quadrant with you Robert. Sorry!

C-Star
Wed Sep 19 16:16:19 2012

Yeah you never struck me as feminine Robert.... Don't know how you got the idea that we would. Where is Ulysses anyway? He hasn't posted in a while. Probably busy with the Windhammer Prize.

Robert Douglas
Wed Sep 19 18:42:40 2012

@ Glen,

So, by my writing style, you can tell I'm male? I was just wondering if people could tell. I'm not sure about the differences between male/female styles. It's just an interesting topic, I think.

@ C-Star,

Not sure about Ulysses - hope he's doing alright. Does he help organise the Windhammer Prize?

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