iGuest

NOTE: While we are on the subject of Fibonacci, I thought I might just make this post. I realise that Fibonacci is slightly off topic (as this thread is for puzzles), so I have included a puzzle at the end of this post in order to bring it back on topic. The reason I have posted this as a separate message from my previous one rather than adding it on to the end of it is that I feel what is discussed in this post is slightly different from what was discussed in my last post, and if I simply appended the information contained within this post onto my previous post then it could become quite confusing. I am thinking of this post as an article, one which I may even reproduce on a hosted webpage. Now, if you are wondering why I am posting an article about Fibonacci in a thread about algebraic and mathematical puzzles, there are two reasons; the first is that I did not know where else to post this article, and the second is that this thread was already on the subject of Fibonacci. I will now proceed with the article. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After reading Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code', I was shocked to find him claiming that the Fibonacci sequence, and the divine proportion (Phi) were evidence of God's creation. I am an atheist, and would like to disprove those claims and argue that "Phi's ubiguity in nature" does not proof that God exists. I will look at some of the examples of Phi appearing in nature given in 'The Da Vinci Code' and try to find rational explanations for them. I will point out where Brown got it wrong (as well as where he got it right) and will hopefully increase your understanding of Fibonacci. First of all, let's look at one of the first statements Brown makes about the Fibonacci sequence: "Mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci created this succession of numbers in the thirteenth century." This one sentence is full of incorrect information: Fibonacci was not called "Leonardo Fibonacci"; his real name was "Leonardo Pisano" (see previous post for more info). Fibonacci did not create the Fibonacci sequence. Fibonacci wrote about this sequence in his book 'Liber Abaci', but probably heard about this sequence from his contacts in India. The Fibonacci sequence was first discussed by Indian scholars. The Fibonacci series was not created in the 13th century; Fibonacci published 'Liber Abaci' in 1202, but Indian scholars had discussed it much earlier; Pingala in the 5th century BC, Virahanka in the 8th century AD, Gopala in c.1135 AD and Hemachandra in c.1150 AD. The Fibonacci sequence was given the name "Fibonacci sequence" by Edouard Lucas (the mathematician who invented the Lucas Series) in the 19th century. For more information about Fibonacci, check out these links:Ron Knott's Fibonacci biography St. Andrew's University Fibonacci biography The number Φ (Phi) also features in 'The Da Vinci Code'. Brown says that Φ = 1.618, but this is not exactly true. Φ ≈ 1.618 (≈ means almost equal to). The mathematical definition of Phi is a number equal to 1 plus the square root of five, divided by two. If you take any two consecutive numbers in the Fibonacci sequence or the Lucas series (a series of numbers closely related to the Fibonacci sequence) and divide the greater value by the lesser value then you get a number approaching Φ (if you divide the lesser value by the greater value you get the number φ, which is equal to Φ-1). In the book, Brown states that: "Phi's ubiguity in nature clearly exceeds coincidence, and so the ancients assumed the number Phi must have been preordained by the Creator of the universe." He also states that: "Plants, animals and even human beings all possess dimensional properties that adhere with eerie exactitude to the ratio of Phi to 1." before going on to give a list of examples. I will now try to give reasons for some of these. Brown claims that if you divide the number of female bees by the number of male bees in any beehive in the world, you always get the number Φ. This is true, and it is not simply coincidence, but neither is it proof that God created Earth. There is a logical, and interesting, explanation for this; and it is all to do with the way in which honeybees reproduce. Honeybees are parthogenic. The queen mates only once in her lifetime, retaining the sperm within her. She can use this sperm anytime she wants to lay fertilised eggs, but can also choose to lay unfertilised eggs. Fertilised eggs will hatch into females, unfertilised eggs will hatch into males. This means that a female bee has 2 parents (1 male and 1 female), and a male bee has 1 parent (1 female). If we look at the grandparentage of a bee, we can see that a female would have 3 grandparents (1 male parent means 1 female grandparent, and 1 female parent means 1 male grandparent and 1 female grandparent), and a male honeybee would have 2 grandparents (1 female parent means 1 female grandparent and 1 male grandparent). This information might not sound very startling at first, but look what happens when put it in a table:[tabl]Gender of Honeybee ????[/tab]Number of Parents ????Number of Grandparents ????Number of Great-grandparents ????Number ofGreat-great- grandparents ????Number ofGreat-great- great-grandparents [tab]Number ofGreat-great-great- great-grandparents Male[/tcol]1235813 Female23581321[/tabl]As you can see, both of these (1,2,3,5,8,13 and 2,3,5,8,13,21) are examples of the Fibonacci sequence. Notice also that for any given generation: the number of ancestors of that generation a male bee has is a Fibonacci number, and the number of ancestors of that generation a female bee has is the next consecutive Fibonacci number. Phi is equal to a Fibonacci number divided by the previous Fibonacci number. The number of males and females in any given generation are consecutive Fibonacci numbers, thus the number of females divided by the number of males is equal to Phi. Brown claims that on a Nautilus shell the ratio of each spiral's diameter to the next is Φ. Spirals in which this occur are called golden spirals. The pattern on the shell of a Nautilus is a logarithmic spiral (a spiral in which the distance between spirals increases with every rotation, but the ratio of each spirals diameter to the next remains the same) but not, as Dan Brown would have you believe, a golden spiral. Brown claims that sunflowers seeds grow in opposing spirals, with the ratio between the the diameters of the larger rotation and the smaller rotation being equal to Phi. This is true, but there is a very simple reason for this. Here is a quote from the Golden Ratio site:"The reason this spiral is present seems to be that it forms an optimal packing of the seeds so that, no matter how large the seedhead, they are uniformly packed, all the seeds being the same size, no crowding in the centre and not too sparse at the edges." In fact, a lot of things grow in golden and logarithmic spirals because it is the optimum way for them to do so (and not because God made them that way). Brown claims that "the human body is literally made of building blocks whose proportional ratios always equal Phi." This claim is subjective and unsubstanciated. The human body contains so many joints and possible points of measurement that finding Phi is quite easy. If you are actively looking for Phi in objects then the chances are that you will find it eventually (someone even claimed to have found it in a door). This is also true of most ratios. Don't believe me? Try it out for yourself. Here are some examples: [tabl] Ratio of 1:2 - ratio of the number of people an individual is to the number of biological parents he/she has- ratio of how many sight organs a person has to how many tasting organs a person has- ratio of the area of a semi-circle to the area of a circle Ratio of 3:1 - ratio of the number of molars in an adults mouth to the number of caninesratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter as implied by 1 Kings 7:23 Ratio of 7:8 - ratio of the length of my thumb to the length of my outermost finger.[/tabl] For more information on Phi in nature, check out these links:Golden Ratio site An article on mathforum.org An article pointing out some of the mathematical errors Dan Brown made in 'The Da Vinci Code' I hope I have managed to enlighten you a little, and convince you that Phi is not a sign from God. 'The Da Vinci Code' is a really great read, despite the factual inaccuracies, and my intention in writing this article is not to discourage you from reading the book; my intention is to encourage you to question everything. There have been many times throughout history when the very foundations of science have been shaken by controversial new theories which have been proven to be true. We are living in an age where it is becoming increasingly easier to access information, so there is no excuse for subscribing to ideas for which there is evidence to suggest are flawed. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Depending on the popularity of this post, I might do some more "disproving 'The Da Vinci Code'" articles or some Fibonacci articles. Also, I plan on writing an article later in which I will go a long way towards disproving God, and will probably reference this article to show that there is no evidence of God in Nature. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And now for a puzzle, to bring this thread back on-topic: This is a puzzle by Henry E. Dudeney; it first appeared in his book '536 Puzzles & Curious Problems' in 1967. This puzzle was adapted from Fibonacci's 'rabbit problem'. Click the link below the puzzle to reveal the answer: If a cow produces its first she-calf at age two years and after that produces another single she-calf every year, how many she-calves are there after 12 years, assuming none die? NOTE: A "she-calf" is only considered a "calf" while they are younger than 1 year old. [spoil] We start off with one she-calf at age 0. After one year, we have 1 cow who is one year old and 0 births. After two years, we have 1 cow who is at least two years old and 1 birth. After three years, we have 1 cow who is at least two years old, 1 cow who is one year old and 1 birth. After four years, we have 2 cows who are at least two years old, 1 cow who is one year old and 2 births. After five years, we have 3 cows who are at least two years old, 2 cows who are one year old and 3 births. After six years, we have 5 cows who are at least two years old, 3 cows who are one year old and 5 births. After seven years, we have 8 cows who are at least two years old, 5 cows who are one year old and 8 births. After eight years, we have 13 cows who are at least two years old, 8 cows who are one year old and 13 births. After nine years, we have 21 cows who are at least two years old, 13 cows who are one year old and 21 births. After ten years, we have 34 cows who are at least two years old, 21 cows who are one year old and 34 births. After eleven years, we have 55 cows who are at least two years old, 34 cows who are one year old and 55 births. After twelve years, we have 89 cows who are at least two years old, 55 cows who are one year old and 89 births. You should notice that the number of births in each year are part of the Fibonacci sequence: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89 [/spoil] Please post any other puzzles you have below.

Thanks for your reply. Let me answer your questions. It was an example, with each file I tried to upload, I got the same message. And I have strong doubt whether it was successful or not as I could not locate any difference. No. No. I have installed Virtuemart Version 1.0.5 few months ago as a component of Mambo CMS. Now the upgraded version of Virtuemart, i.e. version 1.0.6 has been released. So I need to copy the changed files in place of the existing ones. If I want to do that using cPanel file manager, I am getting that error message. And I think the upload is not being done successfully. I have tried Leech FTP, but there also I am getting the same error message.Above all, I have tried MamboXplorer, a mambo component for managing files, but the result is no different. Please help.

I've got it! In case you don't want me to reveal the answer, made it so you need to click the link below to show the answer. Unitechy was almost correct by suggesting that it may be a Fibonacci sequence. For those of you who don't know what a Fibonacci sequence is I have included some info about it below, as well as some info about Fibonacci that I hope you will find interesting. The 8 is a typo; it should be a 9. The sequence should read: 3, 3, 6, 9, 15, 24 [spoil]If you divide each term in the sequence by 3 you get 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 A Fibonacci sequence! The next term in the Fibonacci sequence is 13, so the answer to the puzzle is 13 X 3 = 69. I notice that vizskywalker also got it right, although the explanation they gave wasn't very clear.[/spoil] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fibonacci and the Fibonacci sequence In this section of this post I will be writing about Fibonacci, the Fibonacci sequence, the decimal system and the golden section. Let's start with the Fibonacci sequence. The Fibonacci sequence is a sequence in which any given term (except for the first two terms) is equal to the sum of the two previous terms. For example: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55... As you can see: 1 + 1 = 2 1 + 2 = 3 2 + 3 = 5 3 + 5 = 8 5 + 8 = 13 8 + 13 = 21 13 + 21 = 34 21 + 34 = 55 Fibonacci sequences can begin with any two numbers, but usually start with 1, 1. We'll come back to Fibonacci sequences later when we are looking at the golden section, but for now lets have a brief look at Fibonacci and his achievements. Fibonacci was born in Pisa in c1175, and never actually called himself "Fibonacci". He was born "Leonardo Pisano" (Italian for "Leonardo of Pisa"), but reffered to himself as "filius Bonacci" (meaning "son of the Bonacci family") and "Leonardo Bigollo" ("Leonardo the traveler"). "Fibonacci" is a shortening of "filius Bonacci" and is how Leonardo Pisano is best known in modern times. What I believe to be Fibonacci biggest achievement is the introduction of the decimal number system to Europe. This system used the Arabic symbols 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0. The decimal system is a base-10 system. The reason for using a base-10 system is that when the decimal system was introduced counting using the fingers was common practice (ten fingers, base-10). The word "digit" comes from latin for "finger". Although the Fibonacci sequence bear his name, it is thought that he probably did not invent it. And now, finally, we will take a very brief look at the golden section. The golden section is also known as the golden ratio, the golden mean, the divine proportion and Phi (Φ). The golden section is an irrational number (a number with an infinite number of decimal places which don't repeat) and ≈ 1.618. The golden section frequently occurs in nature, geometry and trigonometry. And that concludes this brief look at Fibonacci. If you would like to learn more, I have included a few links below: Multi-award winning Fibonacci page on the Surrey University site: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ Biography of Fibonacci on St. Andrews University site: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

This is the message I am getting when I want to upload few patch files for VirtueMart using cPanel File Manager. what does it indicate? What do I need to do to get rid of message? Please help.

If you want to start a newsletter service for the visitors of your site, you may consider to install Letterman 1.2.3 newsletter component for your Mambo/Joomla site. Although the installation is pretty simple, still a quick note will help you. Step-by-step installation guide: 1. Download the source file and save those to your hard disc. 2. Install com_lettermansubscribe_1.2.3.tar.gz as a Mambo Component. 3. Then install mod_lettermansubscribe_1.2.3.tar.gz as a Mambo Module. 4. That's all you need to do. Now you have to publish the Letterman Newsletter module so that the visitors to your website can subscribe/unsubscribe in the newslettter. In the backend as an administrator you will get to configure your newsletter settings, manage your subscribers and compose, publish and send mails.

1.Usually mod_rewrite is employed for dynamic websites, where the links to different pages are generated from a backend database. So, if you can design the basic webpage and underlying datastructure to store the content in different categories, it will no longer be necessary to change each and every url manually. Only thing you should keep in mind is that you have mod_rewrite your website, so, the script generated links should look like http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ 2. It is easier to start designing a website keeping in mind the mod_rewrite factor from the vey beginning. But the reverse is really difficult as at times you may find it difficult to rewrite an existing url. 3. It takes hardly few hours to learn the basics of mod_rewrite, but it is really helpful to give the urls a better shape not only in terms of the search engine crawlers but also in terms of the visitors to your website who will find it much more comfortable to type the entire url instead of typing parameterised urls. 4. ALWAYS KEEP A BACKUP COPY OF YOUR EXISTING .htaccess file, as that is going to play the key role once you have implemented mod_rewrite. In case of any problem, simply restore the previous version.

To sum up that question in brief, Notice from Jeigh: Posting plagarized content will not be tolerated unless you put it in quote blocks and give the source

Microsoft has added several major upgrades to its Spaces blogging service, now known as Windows Live Spaces, including new social networking features that will attempt to compete with the industry leader of Myspace. Notice from Jeigh: Plagarising content will not be accepted here

I use Gmail for now, and possibly forever, depending on what the competitors, such as Lycos, offer. Google has a high potential for storage and good features, and the integrated chat puts it way above its opponents. Gmail has a strong user base and its industry control will likely keep it on top of the e-mail market.

Yea I use it.Im not sure how much better it makes your site crawling, but its simple to make so I do it for all my sites.

Site Survey tab shows all the wireless networks. You can use the windows integrated version of the site survey, but most private adapters provide a better interface for connecting to a wireless network.

Streamload.com has a free plan that gives you that's righ 25 gb of free file hosting.Also savefile.com has unlimited bandwidth and disk space for file hosting, but w/ a 60 mb limit, and there are no limits on streamload file uploads.Google may release the GDrive, which will store gmail messages, Picasa pictures, Google Pages files, and any other files that you want. And guess what- unlimited space and unlimited file size.

There is a new technology called Wireless-N.Linksys and several other comapanies have developed that Wireless-N technology, it promises over 10x the speed and range of Wireless G.It doesnt cost that much, but it is more expensive than the current Wireless G Standard. If you can afford it, I would suggest trying out N technology.A cheaper alternative would be Speedbooster technology, but I don't believe that is fully wireless g standard compatible.

Located at http://www.hostyourself.net/, my disk server is a Java coded application that runs easily and is compatible with virtually ANY system. It can run on Linux, Macs, and Windows, and has several look and feel themes that allow you to customize this versatile software in however format you want. The main purpose of this program is to host files for access by friends, and it also has the ability for public file sharing AND private file sharing. These files are simply hosting on your computer, and accessed by whomever wants the files or is authorized to get the files. There is room for expandability with plugins, and these plugins are avaialable by donating just a small amount of money, around 5 bucks. I love this software, and it has given me the ability to host files and retrieve them later. You can make multiple accounts, and each user can have different access rules, so if you dont want someone going into your personal files, you can stop them. Other cool features include a host cloud that shows other hosts, so you can see what else is being hosted and who else is hosting things. Also, there is a Wake ON Lan feature that can power on your computer remotely. It can be internet launched, or it can be downloaded. And, what I think the best part is, there is the ability to run the program silently in the background, so you arent bothered when someone wants to download your files. You can link directly to a folder or file, so it can be used as a simple file host. Plugins offer advanced functionality, from a guestbook on your server page, to the ability to host a web server, meaning a entire website, right on your computer. Other plugins allow music files to be sorted into albums, and hidden files to be not shown.This great software, accessible at http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ http://www.hostyourself.net/, allows you to host any files that you desire right on your computer for easy access.Here's an example of why you might need it: say you went to work or school, and you left an important word document at home. No biggie. Just use the power on host to turn on your computer remotely, and then if you have mydiskserver on autostart, it will startup, and in a few minutes you will have access to that word document.There is even a private hub, so if you dont want anyone to know you have a server, put it on the private hub.You can even access Mydiskserver files on your PDA, cell phone, laptop, or any device with internet functionality.This is FREEWARE MAN...the best part...

I was looking for a good free host, when I came across PHPNet.us. They promised no ads, 100 percent uptime, and PHP and MYSQL databases (unlimited number of dbz). I was like, dude, this is too good to be true. And it was. The uptime they promised was nonexisitent, because for two hours after the initial 10 minute period I got to check out phpnet it went down, meaning the entire server, I couldnt even access the homepage. Then after those 2 hours, I tried logging in and it wouldnt even accept my real username and password!! I tried logging in FTP from SmartFTP, My Computer, AND Firefox, none of them worked.What's even worse is that during a BIG FTP upload of some CMS stuff and things like that it just went down, and then I had to restart the WHOLE upload. And I have a slow upload, only 16 kb/sec (128 kbps). Lastly, I couldn't even use my domain name with them, they only had a subdomain option. I was considering using the domain name with another host and then doing a php redirection, but that would mess up my pagerank and would be a total nusiance. Hopefully it was just a temporary thing, but if Xisto gives me hosting, then its enough to drive me away.

It is not a matter of blocking, rather, GoogleBOT does n't (or did n't) pick up those urls quickly. Not quite sure of their effect on Google SERPs as I have seen URLs like virtuemart.net/index.php?option=com_weblinks&catid=73&Itemid=4 appearing in SERP. Anyway, it is better to mod_rewrite the URLs instead of using multiple '&' in it.

hi heres a link to our music share and mix fx10243 website

Im an emcee myself, thats why im creating a webpage. I read a post above somewhere saying it takes no musical talent ?? Goes to show how ignornant some idiots in our world are today. I dare any of you to try and write your own lyrics ( not 4 lines like rock songs ) and be able to stay on a beat that was wrote note by note by yourself, and keep a good flow to it... theres more technicals in hiphop than any other music genre.. learn before you speak !

the creation of rap is a good thing, as it allows talented people to express their veiws in a more creative way, but the reason why it does not get the credit it should, is because most rap artists to hit the forfront of rap are pure and utter crap.This is simply because they rap about aload rubbish that dosent reflect real life atall.There are only a few ecseptions, one of whom is eminem who is, in my opinion, one of the best artists in the moderen day, not because hes white, but because he speaks sence and uses rap for its intended reason.back to the question, i would say NO i dont like rap, but eminem is a genius.p.s rock and rap is very simalr, so you cant really compare them.

On July 4, Amazon spammed its customers with advertisement of Norman Finkelstein's virulently anti-Semitic book, Image and Reality of the Israeli-Palestine Conflict. On May 30, Amazon similarly advertised Beyond Chutzpah: on the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History. I have never received any other ad from Amazon.On April 4, in an unprecedented move, Amazon deleted all reviews of Obadiah Shoher's Samson Blinded: A Machiavellian Perspective on the Middle East Conflict. A few days later, Amazon forced its subsidiary Booksurge to terminate publishing contract with Shoher whose book is now available for download from http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ . Google earlier banned advertising of the Samson Blinded for "unacceptable content." Shoher, indeed, is pro-Israeli, yet realistic and critical of Israeli policies.Obadiah Shoher, an anonymous politician, abandons myths and moralizing in favor of realpolitik. He argues for raw efficiency of antiterrorist operations and shedding liberal idealism. Shoher asks inconvenient questions and gives honest answers. Amazon does not like that. Anti-Semitic lampoons by Norman Finkelstein are more to Amazon's taste.

Hi have used a windows pc for years at both home and work and then i tried my flat mates mac a year ago and went out and purchased a mac book and haven't turned back since !! Every thing you listed above is exactly what i was after in a mac and it does them all. I did get the intel based mac book to run those windows specific programs on a dual boot setup for work development. You can get mac office to make sure all your current windows documents are compatible even though macs i'Work still works fine. Oh and plus they look way cooler !!

The US Congress passed a bill into law this week, entitled, "The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006" to protect children from online predators. The law dictates how hyperlinks and domain names leading to obscene content may be presented.The law, intending to prevent children from the sexual predators, imposes jail and fines on the offenders. if anybody is found to decieve the minors into viewing sexual content via 1. misspelled domain names 2. search and 3.misleading hyperlinks. is going to get the punishment as per this law.Any link to such content will need to be clearly labeled as to the nature of it. The domain name of a site containing obscene content is to follow certain guidelines so that it indicates the nature of the site content. Otherwise, it will be treated as misleading domain name. As for example, as has been indicated in the law, a site that containing obscene content and has a domain name containing words like "sex", "porno" will not be treated as misleading. A misleading domain name, which diverts a visitor to viewing obscene content is now punishable. It may result into maximum of two years of imprisonment, or a fine, or both. And if the same has been done with the intention to decieve a minor, the punishment may extend upto four years of imprisonment, or fine, or both. The law has clearly mentioned a list of "material that is harmful to minors" and a clean explanation of the term "sex" in the context of the aforesaid law. The law has also made provision for a little relaxation for such offenders by introducing the term like "Whoever knowingly uses..", it may not be that much easy to identity who is using a trick with malicious intention and who has done so out of inadvertance.However, such law may be considered as a step towards making this internet world a better place for the children.

It's good

My friends computer seems to be restarting itself.When hes at the Windows xp screen.What does he do?.He can't even go into safe mode or nothing.