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Correcting Homer Simpson's Math: Citizen Mathematics

Too Much Free Time

from the make-that-Homer-Fermat-Simpson dept

Fri, Dec 16th 2005 12:25pm — Mike Masnick
Here's a fun Friday post for those of you with Typepad users sitting around twiddling your thumbs with nothing to do (no wonder everything seems so peacefully quiet today). Apparently, the San Francisco Chronicle published a story a while back about some mathematicians who write for The Simpsons. They like to sneak in the odd mathematical equation every once in a while, and the article mentioned one where Homer was dreaming and wrote: "1,782 to the 12th power plus 1,841 to the 12th power equals 1,922 to the 12th power." The article claimed that this was correct -- but seeing as fact checkers aren't mathematicians, no one properly checked it. There are some SF Chron readers, however, who are mathematicians, and they protested, citing Fermat. So, the Chronicle went to run a correction... but discovered they couldn't because they didn't actually know what the correct answer was -- meaning any correction, wouldn't actually have been a correction. Luckily, they went back to one of the people who alerted them to the incorrect nature of the original equation, and had him calculate the correct one. Forget citizen journalism, we've now got citizen mathematics.
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24 Comments

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  1. identicon
    Nicholas D'Amico, 16 Dec 2005 @ 1:24pm

    Homer Simpson's Math

    The original equation is correct. Do you happen to have a TI-83 or better calculator? We use them all the time in our algebra 2 and trig/pre-calc classes, and I thought that I'd go ahead and do some math (even though I'm on vacation).
    The equation was as follows:
    (1782^12)+(1841^12)=2.541210259E39
    (1922^12)=2.541210259E39
    So, who was actually wrong in this dispute? :-)

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Jerry R., 16 Dec 2005 @ 1:35pm

    Re: Homer Simpson's Math

    Actually:

    (1782^12)+(1841^12)=2541210258614590000000000000000000000000.00
    (1922^12)=254121025931480000 0000000000000000000000.00

    So, I guess you are.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    M Siegel, 16 Dec 2005 @ 1:39pm

    Re: Homer Simpson's Math

    Precision is everything. Pi = 3 ... to one significant digit.

    (1782^12)+(1841^12)=2.5412102586145892e+39
    (1922^12)= 2.5412102593148014e+39

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Andy G, 16 Dec 2005 @ 1:45pm

    Re: Homer Simpson's Math

    Argh, why do I care, but the answer is simple, you can't multiply (powers are just multiplying) two different numbers and have it work out to be the same, no more than you could say 3 X 7 + 4 X 7 = 6 X 7.

    Jeesh, I can't believe a roomful of journalists wouldn't know that. Wait, what am I saying??? oh well, anyway, the answer is the difference, which is actually the number 700,211,950,340,978,000,000,000,000,000.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Darnley Bynoe, 16 Dec 2005 @ 1:50pm

    Fermat vs Simpson

    Hey guys give the Simpson's a break. Since Fermat's last theorem is supposedly proven, 1782^12 + 1841^12 = 1922^12 would of course be false, but come on guys, it according to my handy dandy windows calculator, it is within 6-7 decimal places of being true :), with the actual answer being: 1921.9999999558672254029113283703^12 :)

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Dosquatch, 16 Dec 2005 @ 2:03pm

    Re: Homer Simpson's Math

    *ahem* - Have you not heard of Pythagoras, he of the famous Pythagorean Theorm? You know, for a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the adjacent sides equals the square of the hypotenuse... that is, a^2 + b^2 = c^2. (3^2 + 4^2 = 5^2)

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Homer, 16 Dec 2005 @ 2:12pm

    No Subject Given

    ummmmm.....beeeerrrr

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    clint, 16 Dec 2005 @ 2:24pm

    Re: Homer Simpson's Math

    Yes. Jerry R. has it. There is a bit of a difference between the two numbers. Not sure how to say it but here it is:
    700,211,950,340,978,000,000,000,000,000.00

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    hautedawg, 16 Dec 2005 @ 2:26pm

    Re: No Subject Given

    Personally all those zeros look like doughnuts. Which brins up another question...what is the correct spelling of doughnut? Donut? Doughnut? KRISPY KREME?

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 16 Dec 2005 @ 2:40pm

    Re: Homer Simpson's Math

    Powers are multiplying...in the rite that they multiply by themselves. 3x7 and 4x7 are NOT powers...

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    AgG SP Ball3r, 16 Dec 2005 @ 2:48pm

    well just dont...

    ask google....

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    lisa, 16 Dec 2005 @ 3:01pm

    Easily proven wrong without a computer

    You don't need a computer, TI-83, pencil, or any of that fancy stuff.

    Look at the last digits: 1,782^12 + 1,841^12 = 1922^12

    1,782 to any power is going to be an even number, 1,841 to any power is going to be odd. Even plus odd equals odd, but 1,922 to any power is even.

    So the statement is wrong.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    AgG SP Ball3r, 16 Dec 2005 @ 4:23pm

    Re: well just dont...

    ok welllll i went against my own advice and went to google..

    google calc. says...

    (1 782^12) + (1 841^12) = 2.54121026 × 1039

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    AgG SP Ball3r, 16 Dec 2005 @ 4:23pm

    Re: well just dont...

    ok welllll i went against my own advice and went to google..

    google calc. says...

    (1 782^12) + (1 841^12) = 2.54121026 × 10^39**

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    Bruce Bowden, 16 Dec 2005 @ 7:16pm

    Re: Easily proven wrong without a computer

    Bravo! Lisa, your argument distinguishes you as a mathematician (as opposed to someone who simply enjoys math). I'm very impressed by how you got to the core of this one.

    PS: I haven't seen the Simpson's episode in question, but I assume that the writers knew full well that Homer's statement was false but close enough to being true to be a mathematical joke... for non-mathematical number crunchers. ;)

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    Andy R, 16 Dec 2005 @ 7:45pm

    Re: Homer Simpson's Math

    Homer was accurate.
    He just wasn't precise enough. There's a difference.
    Given that he has no reason to dream in 12 significant figures, the show is correct.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  17. identicon
    jon, 17 Dec 2005 @ 1:59pm

    Re: Homer Simpson's Math

    yep, and you are too. The correct answer to the first equation is 2,541,210,258,614,589,176,288,669,958,142, 428,526,657. Any of you coming up with all those zeros are using a program that's not smart enough to deal with numbers this large, and be precise.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  18. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 17 Dec 2005 @ 9:45pm

    Good ol' bc

    foo> bc
    bc 1.06
    Copyright 1991-1994, 1997, 1998, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
    This is free software with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY.
    For details type `warranty'.
    1782^12
    1025397835622633634807550462948226174976
    1841^12
    1515812422991955541481119495194202351681
    1782^12+1841^12
    2541210258614589176288669958142428526657
    1922^12
    2541210259314801410819278649643651567616
    1922^12-(1782^12+1841^12)
    700212234530608691501223040959

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  19. identicon
    scotblock, 18 Dec 2005 @ 3:51am

    Re: Homer Simpson's Math

    In the background along with the supposed counterexample to Fermat`s Last Theorem is the claim that P=NP. I found that funnier. :)

    http://www.claymath.org/millennium/P_vs_NP/

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  20. identicon
    Mandy, 18 Jan 2006 @ 10:23am

    Re: Homer Simpson's Math

    Homer was NOT accurate, any first year math major (or hopefully any junior in high school) knows that there is NO power bigger than 2 that will make a^n + b^n = c^n a true statement for any a, b, and c. I am shocked that no one on the paper knew that.

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  21. identicon
    andrew, 22 Mar 2006 @ 3:08pm

    does anyone know how to program stuff into their calculators? i have a ti83 plus and i want to make a program that will show homer's face on the screen. anyone have any clue how? maybe someone has the program on a link?

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  22. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 26 Jul 2006 @ 9:34pm

    you nerd

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  23. identicon
    Richard Mohr, 26 Feb 2009 @ 5:36pm

    Re: Easily proven wrong without a computer

    I also came to the conclusion that you did, Lisa. Funny that the math people who write for the Simpsons let it go. I'm a teacher at the men's prison in Chino, CA. Most of the inmates have forgotten most of what they covered in school, so it is nice to have this mind candy to read.
    Wasn't this in the Halloween episode when Homer went through the wall to get away from Patty and Selma and became three-dimensional?

    [ link to this | view in thread ]

  24. identicon
    oolon, 18 Jan 2014 @ 4:04am

    Re: Easily proven wrong without a computer

    It also rather demonstrates the falsity of the other "equation", P = NP: it is difficult to actually calculate 1782^12 + 1841^12, and 1922^12, but quick and easy to show that whatever they are, they're NOT equal!

    [ link to this | view in thread ]


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