HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: zg11@ellis.uchicago.edu (zening  ge)
Subject: Re: math problem
Reply-To: zg11@midway.uchicago.edu
Organization: University of Chicago Computing Organizations
Distribution: usa
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 02:42:08 GMT

In article <9212110333.AA13492@mariner.sce.carleton.ca> li@sce.carleton.ca (Yao Li) writes:
>                            Math Problem
>                            ------------
>
>Getting bored? Here is a math problem.
>
>There is a polynomial:
>       -a*y**n + y**(n-1) + y**(n-2) + ... + y + 1 = 0
>where real number a>0 and the notation "y**n" represents the nth power of y.
>
>It's conjectured that this polynomial has a unique positive real solution y.
>
>Can you prove it or find a counter example?
>
>If succeed, please send me your solution. I will post the results later.
>
>Happy challenge!
>
>Li Yao
>li@sce.carleton.ca

I suggest a numerical method to solve it. Should be easy.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: echeng@phys.psu.edu (Eddie Cheng)
Subject: Re: What is Mathematics (Was Re: a math problem for those who ...)
Organization: Penn State, Department of Physics
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 19:12:55 GMT

In article <BzBDy2.Dzp@cs.psu.edu> wang@math.psu.edu writes:
|
|I read the following article in sci.math, maybe some people will be interested.
|
|---------BEGIN INCLUDED MESSAGE----------------------------------
|
>	The Earth may crumble, the Heavens may fall, Christ may destroy the
|universe as we know it, but if there is one constant in Heaven and Earth, I
|believe that constant is MATHEMATICS.
|
>---------END INCLUDED MESSAGE-----------------------------------------------


	Nah.........

	This ``constant in Heaven and Earth'' would not make sense any more,
if/when the Heaven and Earth fall or crumble.  Try again.  :-)

(Hint:  in physics, we go beyond Heaven and Earth...  :-)  )


 
	 Eddie
From: gding@paul.rutgers.edu (guoyi ding)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: A C program for 24 points poker game
Date: 20 Dec 92 10:08:49 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

/* Here is another program written in prolog for 24 points poker game.
   use: solve([A,B,C,D]).  have fun.  */

solve([X,Y]) :- !,
    do(X,Y,A), evl(A,24), write(A), print(' = 24').
solve(L) :-
    pair(X,Y, L, L1), do(X,Y, A), solve([A|L1]).

evl(A,B) :- X is A, B=:= X.

pair(X,Y, [X,Y],[]):-!.
pair(X, Y, [X|R], S) :-pick(Y, R, S).
pair(X,Y, [Z|R], [Z|S]) :- pair(X,Y, R, S).
/* pick all posible pairs of numbers of a list of numbers  */

pick(X, [X|L], L).
pick(X, [Y|L], [Y|L1]) :- pick(X, L, L1).

do(X,Y,(X+Y)).
do(X,Y,(X-Y)).
do(X,Y,(Y-X)).
do(X,Y,(X*Y)).
do(X,Y,(X/Y)):- Y=\=0.
do(X,Y,(Y/X)):- X=\=0.

    
     
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: uphhswh@Msu.oscs.montana.edu
Subject: a math problem for those who want to challenge china's math champion
Reply-To: uphhswh@Msu.oscs.montana.edu
Organization: Montana State University
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 17:48:39 GMT

this is one of the 6 problems in the final contest of national math contest of
1986.
a plane is filled with any way by either black or white points. Prove that:
there must exist one equi-lateral triangle whose 3 vertex are same color.

I dont think there was more than 10 contestants that worked it out (judging by
average sores and that it is the last one of 6 problem.)  I dont know the
answer, which is why I didnt choose math as my career.

Wei Huang --- future world No1. of xxx-ology.
Organization: University of Louisville
Date: Friday, 11 Dec 1992 15:49:13 EST
From: <J0YE0001@ULKYVM.BITNET>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: Joan chen on screen? Oh, no!

Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: gang@ms.uky.edu (Gang Li)
Subject: Re: Joan chen on screen? Oh, no!
    <1992Dec9.173834.28637@cs.brown.edu> <92345.153851DHZHAN01@ULKYVM.BITNET>
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 13:42:52 GMT
Organization: University Of Kentucky, Dept. of Math Sciences

<DHZHAN01@ULKYVM.BITNET> writes:

>I don't understand why we can not talk about her performance skill or her
>success in her field instead of some personnal attack. Why do we, Chinese,
>always attack some one is doing real job? I have one thought that Joan Chen's
>success based on her hard working. She does not have family background on
>film industry neither in China nor in U.S.A. Is it ture? She works hard to
>build her caree at Hollawood. What ever she is playing class B or C even D
>movie now, it means she is working. Not like some people just talking and
>attacking for fun. Please be kind and fair to some one is doing real job.

Here is USA, you should change your sense of humer here. You know how people
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don't think you can use this to excuse our bad behavior.

attack Mr. Bush, and I think he is doing real job too.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don't think we are talking about at same point. I like to joke but not only
to talk about some one's face is squre or not.

I like Mr. Bush as well as Jaon Chen.

>Comparing Zhou Li, Jaon Chen is a real success.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: gang@ms.uky.edu (Gang Li)
Subject: Re: Joan chen on screen? Oh, no!
    <1992Dec9.173834.28637@cs.brown.edu> <92345.153851DHZHAN01@ULKYVM.BITNET>
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 13:42:52 GMT
Organization: University Of Kentucky, Dept. of Math Sciences

<DHZHAN01@ULKYVM.BITNET> writes:

>I don't understand why we can not talk about her performance skill or her
>success in her field instead of some personnal attack. Why do we, Chinese,
>always attack some one is doing real job? I have one thought that Joan Chen's
>success based on her hard working. She does not have family background on
>film industry neither in China nor in U.S.A. Is it ture? She works hard to
>build her caree at Hollawood. What ever she is playing class B or C even D
>movie now, it means she is working. Not like some people just talking and
>attacking for fun. Please be kind and fair to some one is doing real job.

Here is USA, you should change your sense of humer here. You know how people
attack Mr. Bush, and I think he is doing real job too.

I like Mr. Bush as well as Jaon Chen.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
But I never read some attacking message to Mr. Bush on this group.

>Comparing Zhou Li, Jaon Chen is a real success.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: weimin@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu (Weimin Liu)
Subject: Re: The depreciation of RMB
Organization: The Johns Hopkins University, Boilnomore, Merryland
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 23:23:27 GMT

In article liqfk2INNias@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM, stlin@stevelin.Eng.Sun.COM 
(Steven Lin) writes:
>If you have noticed, the value of RMB is going down and down.
>It has been depreciated many times since the China door is open.
>It has been in flexible rate day to day, city to city (I wonder
>why it changes city to city).
>
>It may go down 10:1 against the US dollar soon!
>   <financial advice deleted>

If you have read the newspaper, the U.S. Department of Commerce a few weeks
ago accused both the Mainland and Taiwanese Government of manipulating the
currency exchange rate to make their products competitive.  Maybe there is
a grain of truth in it.  Then again, the U.S. has a trade deficit with both
places, and we all know how good they are at blaming others.

IMHO, the true value of a RMB is about $2 USD (that's right, $1 US is about
worth 0.5 RMB), but it may take years to actually get there on the market. 

Weimin (wliu@lando.hns.com)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china,soc.culture.hongkong
From: 54yang@cua.edu
Subject: Re: The baby is being cut in half
Organization: The Catholic University of America
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 17:49:35 GMT

In article <1992Dec10.144014.1@uwovax.uwo.ca>, wmleolau@uwovax.uwo.ca writes:
> 
>   I don't think that it is the problem of territory.  HK definitely will be
> part of China after 1997.  HK people just want more political freedom. 
> 
>   The future of HK administrators should be freely elected by HKer. And 
> the relation beteen HK government and Chinese Central government is stated
> clearly in HK's Basic Law and China's Constitution.  There is totally
> non-sense to co-relate the problem of territory with the present issues.
> 
> Raymond Kwok 

Democracy is desired every where and it is justifiable by its own term.
But for this specific issue what the HK Governer (he is a colonial
governer assigned by UK!!!) is doing or trying to do now is not a
pure issue of people's movement (or grassroots movement) but enforced
by the colonial governer!!!

Don't be too naive.  You should try to find out why Governer Pattern
want to introduce this issue at this time.  His personal motivation,
his personal interests, his political party's interests, UK's interests,
etc. should be investigated.  

Why UK didn't introduce the "democracy" 20 years ago, or 50 years ago when
this kind of democracy has been enjoyed by British people?

I don't pretend to know this, could you please answer these questions?

54yang@cua.edu
From: y0z8374@zeus.tamu.edu (ZHANG, YUEMIN)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: (Re: DATA: largest world economies)
Date: 18 Dec 1992 09:09 CST
Organization: Texas A&M University, Academic Computing Services
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: zeus.tamu.edu
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    

In article <07T=g0=@engin.umich.edu>, changhp@engin.umich.edu writes...
> 
>	
>	When we, people of Taiwan, are talking about
>the Taiwan issues, we are discussing our own problems.
>	When you, people from China, are talking about
>the Taiwan issues, you are talking about your neighbor country's
>problems.
>	Your situation and Mr. Liao's are apparently different.
> 

Why are you posting you article in soc.culture.china? If Taiwan issure is 
unrelated to china, please leave this news group, and go to a suitable place 
sct.  We are sick to read your meaningless articles.





YZ
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china,soc.culture.taiwan
From: joe@athena.mit.edu (Joseph C Wang)
Subject: Re: DATA: largest world economies
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 03:51:47 GMT

In article <3aR=!P=@engin.umich.edu> echang@engin.umich.edu writes:
>	1) Should China invade Taiwan, any country can help
>	   Taiwan without being intimidated by the accusation of interposing 
>		           internal affair of China.

I don't understand that argument.  If the PRC invades Taiwan after a
declaration of independence, it will claim internal affairs regardless
of what Taiwan says.

>	2) Many countries can develop diplomatic relationship with Taiwan.
>	   It is essentially more effective and practical to protect your
>           citizens and assets in a country with formal diplomatic relation. 

The current government on Taiwan seems to have no problem with dual
recognition under the name "Republic of China."  If other governments
won't recognize the ROC because of PRC objections, why do you think they
will recognize the "Republic of Taiwan."

>	3) Taiwan can joint the international society under her own name;
>	   Her citizens' passports don't have to bear the name Republic of 
>           China, which they don't represent.	          

What's wrong with the name Republic of China?  You don't like it, but
most of the people on Taiwan seem willing to live with it.

What you seem to be arguing is that the name "Republic of Taiwan" will
change Taiwan's diplomatic status.  What you don't seem to realize is
that other governments DON'T CARE what Taiwan calls itself.  What they
care about is the attitude of the People's Republic toward Taiwan and
that won't change regardless of what Taiwan calls itself.


Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: shi6@oddjob.uchicago.edu (Xiangdong Shi)
Subject: Do I need an Advanced Parole? Help!
Organization: University of Chicago, Astronomy and Astrophysics
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 16:41:26 GMT

Hi, netters, I am going to Isreal for a conference in next Jan.
My question is: is it likely that I'll be rejected when I apply
a US visa in Isreal? Or do I need an Advanced Parole for safety?
Is there any instance that a PRC student was rejected for US visa
in other countries? Thanks for help.
From: gang@ms.uky.edu (Gang Li)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: TO All of you who like math (follow: Another Math question)
Date: 17 Dec 92 16:21:39 GMT
    <1992Dec17.105932.7751@ms.uky.edu>
Organization: University Of Kentucky, Dept. of Math Sciences

Yes, I am here again. But I promise only Math or CS problem related with c.c.s.

I am dead in the exam. There is no Chinese in this course, so I am here to
share this happiness with you.

One of tens of questions in the exam is:
"Why context free grammar is recursive?"
Can anyone of our greatest talented Chinese friends can answer this question in
two hours? Even open books is allowed here. And you don't need to give the
answer, just to get the feeling.
Thanks and enjoy.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: mirsip@risky.ecs.umass.edu (Ivan Popstefanija)
Subject: Re: An Old Arithmatic Problem
Organization: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 19:44:37 GMT

In article <15DEC199202400198@utkvx2.utk.edu> xic@utkvx2.utk.edu (Chen, Xi) writes:
>Well, the following is an old arithmatic problem, not mathematic problem.
>
>Do you know a poker game called 24 points?  If you know it, you know the 
>rule.  There are four cards, 5, 5, 5 and 1.  Find an arithmatic expression
>using all the number once and only once to get 24.

5*(5-1/5)

Good day!

>Rule:  for the people who do not know the game, the following is the rule:
>The arithmatic operations are limited to add, substract, multiplication 
>and division in decimal system.  There is no binary operations, no power,
>no abstract algebra.  I do not have a big math vocabulary, but the criterion
>for the correct answer is that your answer should be able to convince others
>that the student in the third grade of elementary school should know how
>to calculate it.
>
>I hope to see some correct answer.  If there is no correct answer posted,
>I will post the answer to the net tomorrow.
>
>Have fun.  


Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: uphhswh@Msu.oscs.montana.edu
Subject: test
Reply-To: uphhswh@Msu.oscs.montana.edu
Organization: Montana State University
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 17:37:12 GMT

t

Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: 90908648@bradford.ac.uk
Subject: RE: Xmas
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Sun, 13 Dec 1992 14:11:07 GMT

Hi there,

Xmas is approaching.  As usual, this has caused some serious 
concern in S.C.C., i.e.,

>scc53091@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve C. Chen!!!)writes:
>achen@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu (positron) writes:
>

>>Hey!  Proud christian,

>>please show some respect for non christians,
>>(which would include more than 99% of all Chinese).
>>A less offensive greeting would be ...



>>     Happy Holidays.



>>Go back to your church and pray to your
>>white god.  Leave the rest of us alone.

>Hey!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  God still loves you...:)  I am sure
>Jesus is not ticked off at all!  :D

>Steve

Though I am not a christian, I enjoy their Holiday very much! There're
wonderful discounts in shops, delightful people play on streets, Xmas
music floating in the air ( Jingo bell, jingo bell, jingo all the way!
... this remind me of my undergraduate years in Beijing, when it was
so popular to sing western songs in students gathering, and it sounds
still fascinating to me this day), THE professor relaxed (he doesnt believe
in GOD, too), TV programms becomes more attractive, ... isn't it a god
thing to spend a xmas in the west! 


+--------+
|90908648|
+--------+

Newsgroups: soc.culture.china,soc.culture.taiwan,soc.culture.hongkong
From: shao@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (SHAO CHUNG-SHANG)
Subject: Re: DATA: largest world economies
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 20:02:59 GMT

In article <1992Dec11.000827.14982@cbnews.cb.att.com> liaohen@cbnews.cb.att.com (Heng-Hsin Liao) writes:
>From article <1992Dec10.231523.7719@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>, by dh5m@galen.med.Virginia.EDU (Donghai  Huangfu):
>> 
>>>
>>>No, ROC is history.
>>>
>>>
>>>Heng-Hsin
>>>
>> What passport do you hold ?
>> 
>
>First, I am going to tell you I hold Taiwan's passport.
>
>If you don't buy it, read the whole article I wrote. It's a tragedy to
>Taiwanese - using passport of a country that's already history.
>
>We are fighting KMT for the fact.
>
no, for your dream.  'ROC' appears on my passport that is the formal
document.  it is the name of my country.  it is the fact.

cs shao.

Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: chenx@cua.edu
Subject: 24 points poker game: answer and new game.
Organization: The Catholic University of America
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 21:46:00 GMT

Yes, for the people who were interested in the 24 points poker game
this morning, the correct answer was posted by some one in this group.

	5*(5 - 1/5) = 24

I am glad to see that some one has developed a whole class of problems
similar to this one.

Now, here might be another one which might be easier than the previous one.
You may try to think about it in head, do not use a pencil and a piece of 
paper.  If you write it down, it will be too easier for you and you will
not have fun, right?

Now, the four numbers are

	10	10 	4 	4

and calculate 24.
From: zzuo@iastate.edu (Zhiqi Zuo)
Subject: The answer. :-)Re: 1 dime + 1 quarter = 35 cents(testing kids' IQ)
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 02:26:56 GMT

In article <Dec.14.18.18.17.1992.3094@soliton.rutgers.edu>, zzhang@soliton.rutgers.edu (ZhiZhong Zhang) writes...
>Ok, two coins, a dime and a quarter make up 35 cent, right? Now, can you 
>make up 35 cents from two coins when one of them is not a quarter?

Very likely.

Using one or two coin(s), from other countries, we can make up 35 cents of
American kind.

:]
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: guo@borneo.gmd.de (Guo Shuwei)
Subject: Re: Where did the $1 go?
Organization: GMD
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 10:34:01 GMT

In article <Dec.15.15.30.55.1992.6359@soliton.rutgers.edu>, zzhang@soliton.rutgers.edu (ZhiZhong Zhang) writes:
|> Again this is NOT a math or phys problem. The purpose of it is only to
|> entertain. I apologize if you heard this before. 
|> 
|> Here we go. Three friends shared one room in a hotel. They paid $30 for 
|> the room when they checked in. When they were leaving, 
|> however, the manager realized that they should only have to pay $25. So the
|> manager asked a waiter to pay them back the $5. But the waiter is greedy,
|> so he gave each person only $1 and he kept the $2. Now, the problem, each
|> person spent $9, the waiter kept $2, therefore the total is 3*9+2=29. It
|> is $1 short. Where did the $1 go?

here it should be 

        3*9=25+2
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china,soc.culture.taiwan,soc.culture.hongkong
From: joe@athena.mit.edu (Joseph C Wang)
Subject: Re: DATA: largest world economies
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 03:03:34 GMT

In article <1992Dec10.195914.6623@cbnews.cb.att.com> liaohen@cbnews.cb.att.com (Heng-Hsin Liao) writes:
>It seems you missed some part at the beginning (before native language).
>If you talk about unification without time-table, I don't know you mean
>unification within tens of years, hundreds of years, or thousands of
>years. 

Tens of years.  Once you get a reasonable government on the Mainland,
you will have large amounts of pressure from the business community to
negotiate some sort of union between Taiwan and the Mainland.

>Before that happens, what do you think makes people in Taiwan
>more beneficial? Claim Taiwan to be a province in China? Threaten the
>whole world do not ever think about recognizing Taiwan? 

Mutual recognition between the People's Republic of China and the
Republic of China sounds like a good way to stabilize the current
political situation.  

>Taiwan is on it's own!

Taiwan is not on its own.  There's US$10 billion of cross-strait trade
between Taiwan and the Mainland, even with the uncertain political
situation and the restrictions on cross-strait trade.

>If you still think Taiwan is part of China, I guess you will like
>KMT much more than Taiwanese like me. 

There are Taiwanese like you, and there are Taiwanese who are not like
you.  

>I am glad that China is prospering after tens of years' struggle. And
>I will be really proud of you if China respect Taiwan in every respect.

Do you respect Taiwan?  Right now, the political settlement that has
been reached in Taiwan calls for a government named the "Republic of
China."  Do you accept this?

>If
>later GuangDong, FuGian (if I misspell them, I apologize) become
>much more different from Beijing and their people want to go their own
>way, just let them do it. I think it's better than centralized control
>style. Have you ever thought about the possibility of state union
>and something like that for China? I would like to hear from you.

It's been tried a lot of times before.  What always happens is that
all the states start fighting all the other states and everyone
becomes misearable.
From: yush@buengc.bu.edu (Guo-Xiang Yu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: Joan chen on screen? Oh, no!
Date: 12 Dec 92 15:37:12 GMT
Reply-To: yush@buengc.bu.edu (Guo-Xiang Yu)
Followup-To: soc.culture.china
Organization: College of Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

In article <92345.153851DHZHAN01@ULKYVM.BITNET> DHZHAN01@ULKYVM.BITNET writes:
>I don't understand why we can not talk about her performance skill or her
>success in her field instead of some personnal attack. Why do we, Chinese,
>always attack some one is doing real job? I have one thought that Joan Chen's
>success based on her hard working. She does not have family background on
>film industry neither in China nor in U.S.A. Is it ture? She works hard to
>build her caree at Hollawood. What ever she is playing class B or C even D
>movie now, it means she is working. Not like some people just talking and
>attacking for fun. Please be kind and fair to some one is doing real job.
>
>Comparing Zhou Li, Jaon Chen is a real success.

Quite right. Just think how many of us are doing class A job in US.
Anyway we are working hard to gain respect and career.









Newsgroups: soc.culture.china,soc.culture.taiwan
From: dtwei@acsu.buffalo.edu (Danielle T Wei)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: An Old Arithmatic Problem
Date: 17 Dec 92 00:07:07 GMT
Organization: UB

In article <1992Dec16.224410.18421@risky.ecs.umass.edu> mirsip@risky.ecs.umass.edu (Ivan Popstefanija) writes:
>For the hack of it, here is another one: 7, 7, 3, 3

Lame.. Its almost the same as the 5,5,5,1 problem:

7*(3+3/7)

>Easy, hum? A table has four corners, cut one corner and how many left?
>I feel like 5-year-old now!

Either 5 or 3, depends on how large the cut is..
(everybody in china knows this riddle)

NW
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: yu@physun.physics.mcmaster.ca (Fan Yu)
Subject: All those tricky problems
Organization: Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, McMaster University
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 02:33:59 GMT

I couldn't help thinking about the reason why so many generation-old
math/logic/just-for-fun problems are appearing on the net in exponentially
increasing numbers. They don't help you get jobs, neither do they help you
earn money. They don't even help your GRE analytical.

One thing is for sure: they reflect Chinese culture. At least they were
part of the Chinese culture of many elites who end up HERE, including me.
I am going to collect all these problems and save them in a mailbox.
Fifty years from now I'll open it and use them to rejuvenate my brain.

FY
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china