Boring thread

The "math problem" thread over in the natural science subforum just got shut down today—after being open for over a year. I jumped back into things at post #80, and suddenly, in just the last few days, more than half the replies have flooded in (taking us up to post #212). A handful of users joined in, and the debate was actually more heated than it’s ever been. But they closed it for this reason:

"Nah, I'd say the thread is getting stale so I'm locking it."

Clearly, the issue isn't some "stale thread"—it's me. If that moderator—whose name isn't even worth mentioning—had any legitimate reason or the actual authority to kick me off the thread, he would've jumped at the chance. Honestly, even if he'd made up some bogus excuse, it would've been better than this. Not for my sake, though—I've already said everything I had to say anyway.

Hello, ruggedraven36. Yes, this thread has become tedious because pages upon pages are spent arguing over your interpretation of set "size." This isn't interesting, primarily because in the mathematics you keep citing for reasons known only to you, that concept isn't even defined. And there are perfectly valid reasons for that, which have been explained here multiple times.

Since several mathematicians—and even non-mathematicians—have already clarified the facts (which most regular users on the IRS forums are already well aware of), I would say this topic has exhausted its potential. Naturally, it becomes incredibly boring if we allow it to just spin in circles.

I have the option to ban you for being persistently disruptive, and I could delete your posts since they are truly excessive and all claim the same incorrect thing. However, that would leave the thread looking patchy and wouldn't be fair to the people who took the time to answer your posts to teach you something—while potentially educating other passersby who might not know the same things you don't. One shouldn't be exclusionary; even in this day and age, there are people who haven't had the luxury of learning high school math, making this topic useful for them.

My choice, therefore, is to close the thread without any bans or deletions. But I can certainly implement those measures if you insist.

It’s actually a good thing you didn't scrub those posts—they speak volumes about what's really going on beneath the surface of her persona. I'll leave the final verdict to the readers who aren't too lazy to think for themselves. Your decision wasn't based on the reasons you listed here—which are only half the story anyway—but was driven by ideology, whether you realize it or not.

As for getting a strike or a ban? I couldn't care less.

By the way, since when did it become illegal in math to call out contradictory definitions? It’s hilarious—two of the main guys here actually agreed with me earlier when I pointed out that you can't really have a "number of elements" in an infinite set, yet they don't seem to mind using the phrase "the number of elements" when talking about an "infinite set." So now, I'm supposed to get banned just for being "stubbornly pedantic"?

Zachary Mendoza2 said:My call? Just close the thread without any warnings or deletions. But hey, if you’re dead set on adding those, I guess we can play it your way.

I've got a better idea. Reopen the thread—I promise I won't say a single word, even if someone tries to drag me into it with a question. If my word isn't enough for you, go ahead and ban me; like I said, I really don't care.

Zachary Mendoza2 said:There’s no reason to be elitist about it—even nowadays, there are plenty of people who didn't get a solid grasp of high school math, so this topic might actually be helpful for them.

Look, I don't know what they're teaching in high schools these days, but my own math skills were enough to land me in the top tier at state-level competitions back in the day—so I’m hardly the clueless amateur you're making me out to be. Not that it even matters. There's a massive difference between being a skilled mathematician and actually grasping the fundamental concepts that everything else is built on. This whole debate just proves my point.

ruggedraven36 said:I have a better suggestion. Start a new thread, and I promise I won't participate, even if someone asks me a math problem. If my word isn't enough, feel free to ban me; I've already said I don't care.

Fine, I will open one. Stop trying to pass off your personal theories as math. Read more, write less. Your peers know their stuff; try learning something from them.

Zachary Mendoza2 said:Fine, I’ll bite. But seriously—stop trying to pass off your personal hunches as actual math. Read more, type less. Most people here actually know their stuff—maybe try learning something from them instead of lecturing.

Thanks on behalf of everyone who actually wants to have a real discussion on this topic. Me? I'm sitting this one out.