Precalculus teacher vs WolframAlpha student

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  • Опубліковано 17 тра 2024
  • The domain of a function is a big part of precalculus. Cos^-1(pi) is actually an imaginary number! Learn more fundamentals of math at Brilliant! Use brilliant.org/blackpenredpen/ to get 20% off!
    The restricted domain to have an inverse for cos(x) is [0, pi] and its range is [-1,1]. Thus we know the domain of the inverse of cos(x) is [-1, 1] and the range is [0,pi]. With that said, cos^-1(pi) shouldn't have any answer likewise for cos(cos^-1(pi)). But one of my students used WolframAlpha and it gave cos(cos^-1(π))=π!!! Oh well, let's use the complex definition of cos(z) to find an expression for the complex cos^-1(w) and see how we can get the π! Cancel with caution (from my precalculus & calculus tutorial channel): • Cancel with caution!
    *Team Euler's T-shirt in the video* 👉 bit.ly/3rAD4cX
    10% off with the code "WELCOME10"
    0:00 cos(cos^-1(pi))=?
    1:20 Using Euler's formula to get complex cos(z)
    2:47 Getting an expression for complex cos^-1(w)
    6:02 A complex value for cos^-1(π)
    6:35 Getting cos(cos^-1(π))=π
    10:32 check out Brilliant
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,2 тис.

  • @blackpenredpen
    @blackpenredpen  2 роки тому +563

    Cancel with caution: ua-cam.com/video/_8AlSoR-THc/v-deo.html

    • @hassanawdi3793
      @hassanawdi3793 2 роки тому +1

      So it does have a solution

    • @amiteshgarg3075
      @amiteshgarg3075 2 роки тому +2

      Oh now I understand
      So it is because Euler's theorem
      Thanks brother

    • @randomisme4m
      @randomisme4m 2 роки тому +2

      How can you set cos(z) =w and use it as a constant in the quadratic formula when z is the variable in the equation?

    • @amiteshgarg3075
      @amiteshgarg3075 2 роки тому

      @@randomisme4m just as an assumption dude
      Just like in integration and differentiation equations , we assume some functions like cos x , sin x , etc.
      as t

    • @randomisme4m
      @randomisme4m 2 роки тому +1

      @@amiteshgarg3075 Yeah i get that but doesn't the quadratic formula require a b and c to be constants rather than variables?

  • @Wyattporter
    @Wyattporter 2 роки тому +4762

    I love how threatening this is. “You want to go the complex world? I will take you there.”

    • @dielaughing73
      @dielaughing73 2 роки тому +164

      But don't regret

    • @ollllj
      @ollllj 2 роки тому +49

      take me to the complex world, and take me 3 iterations of automatic differentiation deep down, with 3 recursions of the quotient rule, with complex number division!

    • @InTrancedState
      @InTrancedState 2 роки тому +24

      And put it on the test

    • @user-gv6bb8pw3h
      @user-gv6bb8pw3h 2 роки тому +5

      better not

    • @Tensho_C
      @Tensho_C 2 роки тому +13

      the teacher always laughs in the end

  • @intheshell35ify
    @intheshell35ify 2 роки тому +3314

    I "challenge the teacher all the time" cause they are human too.
    Hold up, nobody said anything about putting it on the test. I was just playing. You the man. All hail the teacher and his very sufficient answers!!!!

    • @blackpenredpen
      @blackpenredpen  2 роки тому +478

      😆

    • @karionwhite2367
      @karionwhite2367 2 роки тому +64

      Why is it my classmates all hate me?

    • @intheshell35ify
      @intheshell35ify 2 роки тому +84

      @@karionwhite2367 they get tired of carrying their own hate around so they give it to you.

    • @josephcoon5809
      @josephcoon5809 2 роки тому +81

      Over 20 years ago, my pre-cal teacher said I was probably the dumbest one in the class on day one because of an unfriendly interaction the year before.
      After a couple minutes of him smirking while the class laughed, a friend spoke up, “Joe’s probably the smartest one in here. 😂 I never cared what anybody thought of me, so I always played dumb. It was satisfying seeing his smirk melt as he realized they were laughing at him and not me.
      The best part of the story came later in the semester when a friend overheard him talking to other teachers in the teachers’ lounge.
      “Joe could probably do every problem in the book.”
      He never apologized for what he said in the first day, but it meant more to me what he said when I wasn’t around. A true test of a person’s character is what they say and do when nobody is looking or listening. I’ll take a sincere compliment behind my back than an insincere apology to my face any day.

    • @karionwhite2367
      @karionwhite2367 2 роки тому +23

      @@josephcoon5809 My teachers never told any body that they are stupid. They were just proud, if there were one child that understood what they were teaching.
      Most of the time i just talked with them about the current topic in class and prevented that anybody had to do anything even though my math teacher bant me after a while because she could not resume teaching. So she just gave me some tasks and send me out, like I get it you understand everything already but please consider the others. It were a litle bit sad =)

  • @XenOz3r0xT_88
    @XenOz3r0xT_88 2 роки тому +2250

    This dude just pulled an “I will show you the world” song from Aladdin by taking us to the complex world lol.

  • @daniellind9081
    @daniellind9081 2 роки тому +570

    I know it’s just his microphone but there’s something so wholesome about him holding a plush pokeball while talking

    • @whatelseison8970
      @whatelseison8970 2 роки тому +41

      You never know when a wild Magicarp might appear.

    • @louisvictor3473
      @louisvictor3473 2 роки тому +6

      @@whatelseison8970 dunno if I would want to throw a plush pokeball at a magicarp. It might get soggy.

    • @sadiaaa1373
      @sadiaaa1373 2 роки тому +48

      I didnt even know it was a mic. I just saw that he was holding it and accepted it lmao

    • @jimmyzhao2673
      @jimmyzhao2673 2 роки тому +18

      I thought it was some kind of magic talisman where he gets his math superpowers from.

    • @hunTERroriz
      @hunTERroriz 3 дні тому

      ​@@sadiaaa1373 you are so easy

  • @militantpacifist4087
    @militantpacifist4087 Рік тому +474

    Imagine you’re in high school or college barely learning this and all of the sudden in the exam there’s a problem that says “Prove that Cos(Cos−^1(π)) = π.”

    • @zachansen8293
      @zachansen8293 Рік тому +37

      It would be no different than telling me to dunk a basketball. You just can't.

    • @tryingtomakeanamebelike7245
      @tryingtomakeanamebelike7245 Рік тому +11

      I would just throw my exam in the garbage

    • @LKLOCO
      @LKLOCO Рік тому +113

      Aight bet
      Cos(Cos−^1(π)) = Cos((1/cos)π) = Cos(π/cos) = (cos)π/cos = π

    • @vrajhirani7283
      @vrajhirani7283 11 місяців тому +12

      @@LKLOCO 🤡

    • @kabirsharma9786
      @kabirsharma9786 11 місяців тому +16

      ​@@LKLOCO what the heck man 😂😂

  • @AmritGrewal31
    @AmritGrewal31 2 роки тому +2007

    Wolfram alpha is weak AF, we need wolfram sigma

  • @bobfish1290
    @bobfish1290 2 роки тому +467

    Just realized how god tier he is at the color swapping

    • @blackpenredpen
      @blackpenredpen  2 роки тому +70

      Thanks

    • @0bleach0
      @0bleach0 2 роки тому +12

      It really helps with understanding how one line of equation translates to the next

    • @davidlee9870
      @davidlee9870 2 роки тому +10

      I'm frustrated that they don't teach this to all educators. It looks so simple, and unbelievably useful.

    • @0bleach0
      @0bleach0 2 роки тому +2

      @@davidlee9870 not enough money in the coloured-dry-erase market i suppose

    • @whatelseison8970
      @whatelseison8970 2 роки тому +12

      That's the entire basis for the channel. The math is just a means for him to show it off.

  • @jacobcowan3599
    @jacobcowan3599 2 роки тому +720

    This is awesome. Everyone tends to react to complex numbers with the sentiment that "they make math more confusing" but this problem is an excellent example of how complex numbers can actually make math more sensible.

    • @lifehacksyoutubedudewiththeroc
      @lifehacksyoutubedudewiththeroc 2 роки тому +4

      You are ysing my pfp stop

    • @Chris-df8qf
      @Chris-df8qf 2 роки тому +69

      Complex numbers are only confusing when you look at them in the context of basic math. Once you progress into more involved applications such as electrical engineering, dynamics and vibrations, control systems, etc., complex numbers and Eulers identity SIGNIFICANTLY simplifies the solution process.

    • @nadadada3938
      @nadadada3938 2 роки тому +3

      I mean, complex numbers make me think some problems better

    • @Retinetin
      @Retinetin 2 роки тому +6

      They weirdly become your friend in Diff Equ due to spring problems. It just takes some warming up I feel like

    • @Wogix26
      @Wogix26 2 роки тому +5

      Math for me is insurmountable when its imaginary i.e. x, y, z means absolute bolloks to me. However replace it with something relatable like money, BTU, displacement, etc. suddenly I become a savant (to me at least). I could do compounding interest for 30 years inside my head, however I had to re take algebra 101 three times in college because I can't pretend Z matters whatsoever.

  • @marcushendriksen8415
    @marcushendriksen8415 2 роки тому +169

    Holy shit, bprp is really leaning into the Confucius look these days

  • @thalajmalhotra5777
    @thalajmalhotra5777 2 роки тому +114

    The satisfaction on his face after cancelling in the last step is just incredible

  • @biggerdoofus
    @biggerdoofus 2 роки тому +830

    Wait, but what if the student gives the complex definition of cosine, but then stops there? The complex definition already shows that pi is in its range, so as long as Euler's contribution is true and the function arccosine is defined as the inverse operation of cosine, then by the definition of arccosine the solution would be correct.

    • @Retinetin
      @Retinetin 2 роки тому +62

      I like this idea. This feels like a trick I would use after I feel comfortable with the math though. Like how after a while you are allowed to just *know* what the derivative of arccos is. I would want to feel comfortable with the complex math behind it all, but once I do, I think your approach is equally as valid
      Although if I'm being completely honest I would totally use your solution on an exam lol

    • @gregconen
      @gregconen 2 роки тому +58

      You would also have to prove that an inverse function exists for the complex cosine (not all functions have inverses), but yes. But perhaps the really important lesson is that real-valued arccosine and the complex-valued arccosine are not, if we're being fully rigorous, the same function.

    • @louisvictor3473
      @louisvictor3473 2 роки тому +8

      @@gregconen Sorta. If you're really going the "allow that X is possible" route and that is allowed, even if it doesn't exist otherwise, you're "allowing it to exist [somehow, someway]". The fact it would then makes no sense in any other context than the specific one I just created is already discounted. You should have restricted my powers at the start, but you didn't so whose fault is it really when I use the unlimited power given to me? See, it was you all along.
      Jokes aside, without such a restriction this is valid to assume it were possible (i.e. if it were to exist it would still preserve all the properties/requirements that would be required and that already exist for the non complex version), as long as you mark clearly that is what you're doing. It is basically like how you can "solve" an infinite sum of all natural integers and get -1/12. It is still not the limit/actual value of the sum, but a "what if" result (what if it were non divergent and we could manipulate it like real non diverging sums). Same idea here is possible without setting a restriction "assuming a well defined complex inverse cosine function exists or were to exist, then by definition taking the cosine of its result ought to return the original value like the non complex version or it would not be a well defined complex inverse cosine function", but the fully sober version basically (I am not sober).

    • @ArsenicDrone
      @ArsenicDrone 2 роки тому +8

      This is not too hard to formalize. If f:ℂ→ℂ, and f⁻¹(x) exists for some x∈ℂ (like 𝜋), and f⁻¹(x) is in the domain of f (which it is for cos, whose domain is all of ℂ), then f(f⁻¹(x)) = x. The last bit is what it means to be an inverse. I don't think the domain bit can be untrue if the other parts are true, but I threw it in there.

    • @X_Baron
      @X_Baron 2 роки тому +4

      Yeah, Mathologer's opinion in his -1/12 video is that when you're using analytic continuation, you must point that out and not just use normal notation like nothing special is happening. So WolframAlpha seems to be wrong here!

  • @y33bruh7
    @y33bruh7 Рік тому +7

    9:37 and now ladies and gentlemen this is the best part of the night

  • @andreasibilla7855
    @andreasibilla7855 2 роки тому +58

    i finished this video and my reaction was "...wow"

  • @SgFlaxy
    @SgFlaxy 2 роки тому +89

    Your marker technique is really impressive!

  • @iamstickfigure
    @iamstickfigure 2 роки тому +109

    I love this video. Because when I saw the cancel with caution video, I had a suspicion that complex numbers might fix the problem. It's great to see it all laid out like that.

  • @aerialkiller5948
    @aerialkiller5948 2 роки тому +149

    Everyone: focusing on the problem
    Me: "jesus christ how the f does he write a line using 2 different markers and switch between the two every other letter"

    • @deedewald1707
      @deedewald1707 2 роки тому +2

      Like the unicorns and teacher, they're both magical !

    • @koharaisevo3666
      @koharaisevo3666 2 роки тому +23

      This channel wasn't named "blackpenredpen" for no reason.

    • @deedewald1707
      @deedewald1707 2 роки тому +1

      . True Indeed !

  • @gilber78
    @gilber78 2 роки тому +969

    Here’s what I’d say. The purpose of precalc is understand how functions work. Cosine’s range by all sense of it’s definition w.r.t to the unit circle (in the real xy plane) does not include pi. So for the purpose of precalc, the teacher is correct and the student was being a prick. However if I was a teacher, put that on a hw/quiz/test, and the student somehow did the complex analysis correctly, I’d give them the credit

    • @RexxSchneider
      @RexxSchneider 2 роки тому +141

      The purpose of education is to induce students to learn. Telling them that arcos(π) is undefined is simply a lie. Whatever the purpose of "precalc" might be, it doesn't include telling lies to your students. You might as well tell them that the square root of -1 is undefined as well.

    • @adb012
      @adb012 2 роки тому +280

      @@RexxSchneider ... You can say it is not defined in |R though.

    • @andreimiga8101
      @andreimiga8101 2 роки тому +53

      If somebody puts cos(arccos(π)) on a test, the answer is π, because in order for arccos(π) to be defined, the (maybe multi-valued) function needs to have π in its domain, and cos will by definition give back the π because cos and arccos are inverses. BUT if somebody asks to solve cos(x)=π it's a different story, because they haven't told you the set of numbers which x is allowed to take. In this case, there's multiple, equally valid things you could write on the test: no solutions in R, infinitely many solutions in C (all results of arccos(π)), but there's more! You see, there are larger number sets than the complex numbers, such as the quaternions. There's simply no ONE valid answer to this question.
      UNRELATED:
      As a side note, if somebody asks what is arccos(1), you would answer 0. But if somebody asks what is arccos(π), suddenly there's infinitely many answers? Why can't the arccos function be multi-valued over the reals as well? After all, cos(x)=1 has infinitely many real solutions. Same applies to sine, square roots etc...

    • @MrCmon113
      @MrCmon113 2 роки тому +1

      Depends on the brackets. Do you call cos^-1 on pi or do you combine cos with cos^-1 first?

    • @RexxSchneider
      @RexxSchneider 2 роки тому +6

      @@adb012 You certainly can if you wish. But that leaves you without an answer to the question "What is cos(arcos(π))?" How is that better than having an intuitively correct answer if you _don't_ make that restriction?

  • @ChronosWS
    @ChronosWS 2 роки тому +14

    It is always insufficient for the student to recite the answer if they do not understand why it is the answer.

  • @SimonPetrikovv
    @SimonPetrikovv 2 роки тому +276

    The beauty of it is that any of the solutions to z = cos^-1(pi) that you've found will indeed give us cos(cos^-1(pi)) = pi, since things will cancel out on the denominator/numerator and because we have e^(2i*pi*n) = 1
    I call this art

    • @dakotawoertz5653
      @dakotawoertz5653 2 роки тому +1

      youtuuu.tokyo/watch?v=wl6p5AocT5F

    • @Sir_Isaac_Newton_
      @Sir_Isaac_Newton_ 2 роки тому +7

      @@dakotawoertz5653 This link contains NSFW content.

    • @JohnDlugosz
      @JohnDlugosz 2 роки тому +4

      @@Sir_Isaac_Newton_ Did you click on "report"? I still see the post, 17 hours later. I wonder if reporting it actually does anything.

    • @wolfein2679
      @wolfein2679 2 роки тому +3

      I call this math

    • @SimonPetrikovv
      @SimonPetrikovv 2 роки тому

      I just reported the link too, I hope it goes away

  • @risheraghavendira6042
    @risheraghavendira6042 2 роки тому +64

    true mathematician's happiness @9:45
    feels so good

  • @lorigulfnoldor2162
    @lorigulfnoldor2162 2 роки тому +43

    I just love Euler's formula. It's so powerful! It lets you save on you memory so you don't have to remember all those trig laws, since they can be so easily derived from it!

    • @tissuepaper9962
      @tissuepaper9962 2 роки тому +7

      I truly do not understand why we putz around with sines and cosines anymore. We invented complex numbers soooooo long ago, and they're a much better way to express the same thing.

    • @lauritslolck
      @lauritslolck 9 місяців тому

      I would love to learn how to derive trig identities from Euler. Can you give me an example of a derivation or point me to a good resource?

    • @lorigulfnoldor2162
      @lorigulfnoldor2162 9 місяців тому +1

      @@lauritslolck Well, for example, if "exp(a) = cos a + i sin a", and Re(exp(a)) = Re(cos a + i sin a) = cos a, then...
      cos (2*a) = Re(exp(2a)) = Re(exp(a)*exp(a)) = Re((cos a + i sin a)*(cos a + i sin a)) = Re(cos^2 a + isin a cos a + i sin a cos a - sin^2 a) = Re(cos^2 a + 2 i sin a cos a - sin^2 a) = cos^2 a - sin^2 a.
      Or, take sin 2a. Sin 2a = Im(exp(2a)) = Im(cos^2 a + 2 i sin a cos a - sin^2 a) = 2 sin a cos a.
      See?

  • @aMartianSpy
    @aMartianSpy 2 роки тому +112

    cosine is even, odd in the complex world
    or maybe its odd, even in the complex world
    i odd to know

    • @skylardeslypere9909
      @skylardeslypere9909 2 роки тому +2

      It's not odd in the complex world

    • @rayniac211
      @rayniac211 2 роки тому +4

      That's odd.

    • @stumbling
      @stumbling 2 роки тому +18

      Cosine is even, even in the complex world, oddly.

    • @pauljackson3491
      @pauljackson3491 2 роки тому

      If a function is always even in R does that mean it is always even in C?

    • @JohnDlugosz
      @JohnDlugosz 2 роки тому +2

      @@pauljackson3491 Complex output with real input will always come in conjugate pairs, so the graph will be "even" about the real axis.If you give it non-real input, you might very well end up graphing spirals, which don't have reflection symmetry.

  • @Ad0rak
    @Ad0rak 2 роки тому +2

    After watching this I can say with confidence: I did not want to go there.

  • @hardcore3789
    @hardcore3789 2 роки тому +3

    He really was like "call an ambulance, but not for me"

  • @logiciananimal
    @logiciananimal 2 роки тому +17

    It would be nice (both for teachers and casual use) if Wolfram Alpha had a button that set the "master domain" for relevant functions.

  • @williamphillips4992
    @williamphillips4992 2 роки тому +5

    I love how excited you are at this. It's how I get when I start showing my engineering students structural problems.

  • @bretterry8356
    @bretterry8356 2 роки тому +2

    That flawless two-marker technique is so satisfying to watch.

  • @LeoxandarMagnus
    @LeoxandarMagnus 2 роки тому +2

    I hope you put this on the test.

  • @bradycall1889
    @bradycall1889 Рік тому +5

    At first I was confused I didn’t understand how it could not equal pi. It now makes sense because the inner function is undefined.

  • @epicgamer4551
    @epicgamer4551 2 роки тому +48

    Complex numbers: ight imma head in

    • @nicadi2005
      @nicadi2005 2 роки тому

      @Epic Game "Complex numbers: ight imma head in" - Complex numbers: great for in-plane rotations; also, a prelude to quaternions (great for rotations in 3D space)...

    • @Perririri
      @Perririri 2 роки тому +2

      Normie

    • @angeldude101
      @angeldude101 2 роки тому

      @@nicadi2005 Not just great for rotations; they're better at being rotations than they are at being vectors.

  • @TR_Arial
    @TR_Arial 2 роки тому +11

    I love how at the beginning of the video he was like:"you want it to be π?do you wanna have a bad time? because you're really not gonna like what happens next. Don't say I didn't warn you. "

  • @Rene-tu3fc
    @Rene-tu3fc 2 роки тому

    it's so beautiful to see the amount of logic thinking involved in proving equations. And to me the more I spend away from these topics, the more impressed I get when I return. Thank you for your continued effort in making great content which is straight to the point using just a couple of pens and a whiteboard.

  • @demolition3612
    @demolition3612 2 роки тому +7

    Using the complex world to get around undefined answers is the kind of thing i would do on my calc test because i forgot how to do the problem the normal way.

    • @lucykitsune4619
      @lucykitsune4619 9 місяців тому

      We were taught a formula for how to calculate roots of complex numbers, but I didn't bother studying for the exam, so in the problem that required you to calculate the root of a complex number, I of course did the only logical thing and said the root is equal to some complex number a + ib and then went on to calculate a and b. Or well I WOULD have, if after substituting in every a for some term dependent on b I wasn't left with a 4th degree polynomial. But at least the prof was impressed and gave me partial credit. And then asked me how the fuck I came up with that on the spot but still only managed to get a 3 (Equivalent to a C)

  • @shambosaha9727
    @shambosaha9727 2 роки тому +35

    The truth? You can't handle the truth! (The truth is in the complex world)

    • @stumbling
      @stumbling 2 роки тому +1

      i can handle the truth :P

  • @RobertHorton1975
    @RobertHorton1975 Місяць тому

    The joy of being dragged into the complex world. This guy is a gem!

  • @shoemakerspace
    @shoemakerspace 2 роки тому

    You're a very engaging instructor. This was mind bending.

  • @PawelS_77
    @PawelS_77 2 роки тому +79

    Actually we don't need to do any of this. We just need to know that pi is in the codomain of cosine (and in the complex world it is), and use the the formula: f (f^-1 (y)) = y

    • @bloprock5376
      @bloprock5376 2 роки тому +9

      And how do you know it's in it's codomain one method is to do what he did

    • @Red-Brick-Dream
      @Red-Brick-Dream 2 роки тому +22

      @@bloprock5376 Because the function is holomorphic, and trivially so.

    • @whebon7266
      @whebon7266 2 роки тому +7

      Exactly. No need to explicitly define f^-1(y)

    • @saaah707
      @saaah707 2 роки тому +12

      I think it's a nice demonstration especially for calculus students, so they can see that you're not just waving your hands

    • @Red-Brick-Dream
      @Red-Brick-Dream 2 роки тому +1

      @@saaah707 That's fair

  • @user-vv2yz2ht4l
    @user-vv2yz2ht4l 2 роки тому +3

    I clapped when I saw the final answer had been written down.

  • @AbdAllah_54564
    @AbdAllah_54564 2 роки тому +1

    This video is a bliss, I remember why I used to watch this channel a lot during my high school. Came back from 50k to nearly a million subscribers, u deserve more man. Thanks for all your videos, they are always interesting and enticing you to think more, thanks and keep making more videos as such, and as always, USE THE CHEN LU lol!!!

  • @bizhanhooman9729
    @bizhanhooman9729 2 роки тому +10

    Beautiful! I think this explanation illustrates how important it is to know the nature of what you're trying to model. I wonder how many students are taught that imaginary numbers have real-world application. For me, it came quite a bit later in school.

    • @StarryNightSky587
      @StarryNightSky587 2 роки тому +3

      Anyone doing anything remotely connected to electrical-engineering will immediately see the "real value" (huehuehue) of complex numbers. Just take a simple RLC circuit.

  • @mattilindstrom
    @mattilindstrom 2 роки тому +9

    Sir, your whiteboard technique is outstanding! In my teaching assistant years I thought I had a decent one going, but faced with a professional, I now know my folly😃.

  • @0bleach0
    @0bleach0 2 роки тому +52

    I'm only on calculus 1, but I love learning outside out my curriculum if only to see how what I'm learning aligns with deeper concepts.
    Thank you!!

    • @Retinetin
      @Retinetin 2 роки тому +4

      If you're looking for more real world applications that isn't too far outside of calc 1, I suggest learning a bit about hyperbolic trig functions. We use them to get to get to the moon and other planets!

    • @0bleach0
      @0bleach0 2 роки тому

      @@Retinetin we've just learned about those! One question I have is where do they originate from? Maybe more specifically, why do coshx and sinhx involve e^x? As opposed to how "regular" trig functions represent the possible ratios of different sides of a right-angle triangle.
      Sorry if this is not worded well!

    • @cpK054L
      @cpK054L 2 роки тому +4

      If you struggle on Calculus 1... Calculus 2 is universal the worst punishment in any mathematics curriculum.
      Calculus 1 is derivatives.
      Calculus 2 is integrals (doing derivatives backwards)
      Calculus 3 is multivariable (vector) calculus, where you take the concepts of Calc 1 and 2, and treat the non-respective variable as a constant
      Differential Equations is a toss up
      Then you go into the upper class versions of math which almost no Engineer goes for because "I don't care about proofs"

    • @Robin-en4xs
      @Robin-en4xs 2 роки тому +1

      ​@@cpK054L Depends on your curriculum. At my school they cram all the basics into calc 1, spend calc 2 doing parametric equations, vectors, proofs, improper integrals etc. and then they stitch multivar and lin alg together.

    • @cpK054L
      @cpK054L 2 роки тому

      @@Robin-en4xs what kind of psycho school are you going to?
      How are they teaching vectors in a one dimensional course? You need multivariable to explain vectors. And linear algebra for us is taught with diffeq not calculus.

  • @MrNOOOOB11
    @MrNOOOOB11 2 роки тому +1

    Awesome Vid! My grades have tanked since the beginning of the pandemic and I've been wondering about my future in mathematics, but cool stuff like this reminds me why I pursued math in the first place. Thank you, hope you see this

  • @dez-m
    @dez-m 2 роки тому +50

    You are absolutely remarkable! proud to be attending the same school you once did :)

  • @user-wu8yq1rb9t
    @user-wu8yq1rb9t 2 роки тому +8

    Hello Dear *bprp* .
    You and your bprp channel, included with your marker, your white board, your mic🎙️, your t-shirt, ..., Give me great feeling.
    Thank you so much (I love you teacher)

  • @jucom756
    @jucom756 2 роки тому +14

    Pro tip for students: surprise lath techers with alternative proofs, not by using a calculator. Way more fun if they have to actually think to verify instead of just "sigh, it's because complex numbers"

    • @nathanlakeland2953
      @nathanlakeland2953 2 роки тому +2

      The student probably wanted to check the teachers answer because intuitively cos(cos^-1(x))=x because the cosines cancel out, and so it should be true, they then probably checked it with a calculator because for a pre calc student this is definitely a very hard problem and they likely dont know the complex definition of cosine, so they brought it up and learnt new stuff.

    • @lucykitsune4619
      @lucykitsune4619 9 місяців тому +1

      This. If you say "But wolframalpha returned this", I roll my eyes and think "Oh hey look they can copy and paste stuff, what a genius", if you do all of that yourself and talk me through the steps you did, I will give you a perfect score that year, and start doing research into scholarship programs you can apply to

  • @hellNo116
    @hellNo116 2 роки тому

    That was beautiful. Simple and a nice way to so how different it is to work with complex numbers

  • @josepheasey1114
    @josepheasey1114 2 роки тому +23

    This brings me back to my days of engineering calculus in college. Some of our problems look up an entire page to work out. Sometimes you do all that work and get all the way to the bottom just to discover the answer is 1 or something stupid. Very anticlimactic - but I still loved it.

  • @MrPhyrce
    @MrPhyrce 2 роки тому +13

    I skipped calc and haven't touched math in 20 years. I just spent 12 minutes watching a video of a man proving a calculator simultaneously right and wrong. I think I might start doing math for fun.

    • @error.418
      @error.418 2 роки тому

      Skipped calc, or stopped taking math classes before calc?

    • @MrPhyrce
      @MrPhyrce 2 роки тому +1

      @@error.418 Calc wasn't a requirement in high school, maybe that's changed now. I took physics and math, never bothered with Calc.

    • @error.418
      @error.418 2 роки тому +1

      @@MrPhyrce Gotcha, thanks for the clarification 👍

    • @zachansen8293
      @zachansen8293 Рік тому +2

      and he did it while holding a pokeball

    • @lucykitsune4619
      @lucykitsune4619 9 місяців тому +1

      It's all fun and games until matrices attack

  • @johnopalko5223
    @johnopalko5223 2 роки тому +3

    It took me a while to figure out that ball he was holding was his microphone. I thought he was pretending to be an Ood.

  • @jerryreed2050
    @jerryreed2050 2 роки тому +1

    You make calculus fun, entertaining and understood.

  • @Z7youtube
    @Z7youtube Рік тому +1

    that was amazing!! i'm still in high school and not taking these stuff yet but it's so fun to watch them on youtube

  • @lordadamant8182
    @lordadamant8182 2 роки тому +4

    I think I legitimately did this problem on a test once while getting my physics degree lmao.

  • @CAbbott71
    @CAbbott71 2 роки тому +2

    Fricking awesome. Love it.
    Just imagine being told by a teacher, "I will accept your answer, if you can prove it, but I must warn you that it requires the us of complex number." ... that's biting off more than you can chew.

  • @Austin1990
    @Austin1990 2 роки тому +1

    Very cool. It makes me want to visualize the complex COS transform.

  • @debrachambers1304
    @debrachambers1304 2 роки тому +2

    Teacher DESTROYS student with FACTS & LOGIC

  • @assassinduke1
    @assassinduke1 2 роки тому +3

    I had this exact problem in calculus and I understood nothing, but somehow you made it seem so manageable, thank you for the great explanation.

    • @zachansen8293
      @zachansen8293 Рік тому

      manageable the same way watching a professional athlete do something looks easy. I still can't do it.

    • @lucykitsune4619
      @lucykitsune4619 9 місяців тому

      @@zachansen8293 Don't beat yourself up over it, some of my peers, who are studying math and physics at uni currently - like me - between the 2nd and 3rd semester, still can't wrap their head around how complex numbers can be a thing. And anything like e^iPi or Eulers Formula might as well be a black box with an input and an output and all the information you get about the process of turning the input into the output is a label on the box saying "Black magic fuckery". Seriously there exists math students who fail to grasp the concept of mapping complex numbers on a 2d-plane, so you have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of

  • @selfification
    @selfification 2 роки тому +8

    That is a hell of a derivation. I simply applied the cos(iz) = icosh(z) trick and looked up the arccos in Abromovitz and Stegun.

    • @violintegral
      @violintegral 2 роки тому +4

      Yeah if you know arcoshx=ln(x+√(x²-1)) beforehand you can use the fact that cosx=cosh(ix). And i think you meant cos(iz)=cosh(z). Maybe you mixed it up because isin(z)=sinh(iz) and sin(iz)=isinh(z).

    • @selfification
      @selfification 2 роки тому

      @@violintegral Oh sorry yes, that's what I meant. I have indeed lost a point on two on exams because I keep forgetting the i and - in the various cos -> cosh and sin -> sinh extensions.

  • @koennako2195
    @koennako2195 9 місяців тому +2

    The thing with this question is if you just give them that arccos is only defined with an input between or equal to -1 and 1, and don’t tell them why, of course they would have questions. But I like to tell students to think of this with the definition of inverse trig functions. Arccos is supposed to give the angle in which we can create a triangle with that angle and get the opposite side to be the (in this case) pi, and have the hypotenuse to be 1. Since the hypotenuse is the biggest side of the triangle, this cannot be. So therefore we cannot define arccos pi

  • @reidflemingworldstoughestm1394
    @reidflemingworldstoughestm1394 2 роки тому +2

    Precalculus teacher vs WolframAlpha student? This has to be settled with a dance-off!

  • @kdub1242
    @kdub1242 2 роки тому +95

    It's important to have the context of domain and range agreed upon before starting to discuss examples. The complex plane, with its multivalued functions and Riemann sheets, is very beautiful, but students need to learn to walk before they learn to run (or fly).
    For example, when teaching a young person about square roots, it is natural that the square root of a negative number will be baffling. I don't think it serves a useful purpose to prematurely introduce complex numbers. I think it is more valuable to confront and define the bafflement before one can better appreciate the utility and beauty of complex numbers (as opposed to just seeing them as a "gimmick" to solve previously unsolvable equations, or to solve linear differential equations).

    • @albertwestbrook4813
      @albertwestbrook4813 2 роки тому +17

      Remember that most of this display of fun with complex numbers was in response to the "But the calculator is always right!" refrain given by so many students.
      I agree that this argument should never be given to students that haven't first had a firm grounding in complex numbers, and the connections made in Euler's formula. But to not showcase something "gimmicky "? Comlex numbers, at first, were only marginally accepted because they did provide real solutions to otherwise insoluble cubic equations . Pretty good for a "gimmick".

    • @tomctutor
      @tomctutor 2 роки тому +2

      I agree but '*i* might not. Why do they even bother really teaching anything in the Real world. Life is indeed complex and students better get used to the Euler stuff.
      Ok I jest but please don't disparage the real power of Z.s and sometimes its transformation from complexity to simplicity. Cos(i) is real you know.

    • @chaosplayer9903
      @chaosplayer9903 2 роки тому +3

      @@albertwestbrook4813 gimmick as in rather than understanding the solution most of the students will use it as a "gimmick", aka trick to solve the problem. In another word, rather than being a mathematician they become a memorizatician, if that's even a word.

    • @albertwestbrook4813
      @albertwestbrook4813 2 роки тому +1

      @@chaosplayer9903 In this sense of the word "gimmick", I agree! Short cuts without understanding = sloppy thinking. But the original use of i was correct - it just didn't make sense at the time.

    • @muhilan8540
      @muhilan8540 2 роки тому

      yeah which is why he just tells them that the answer is undefined

  • @robinwang6399
    @robinwang6399 2 роки тому +7

    There a simpler solution: all the trig inverses are defined on length pi intervals, so one can simply move the interval to include pi.

  • @krimhorn
    @krimhorn 2 роки тому +1

    Man, that's the best. Student "akshully"s the teacher and the teacher's like "Yep, OK, here's the much more difficult world where what you said is true, learn this for the test" as retribution.

  • @undercoveragent9889
    @undercoveragent9889 3 місяці тому

    I got goose-pimples when you did the final cancelling. Brilliant.

  • @YassFuentes
    @YassFuentes 2 роки тому +12

    Nice explaination, Steve! Complex world is full of wonder haha. I think the main point to the precalculus student is to grasp the idea of the real domain vs the complex.

  • @ammardian
    @ammardian 2 роки тому +3

    At first I saw that and Thought Pi, then looked again and remembered the range of arccos(x) haha.

  • @tobiasruland4553
    @tobiasruland4553 2 роки тому

    BRAVO! I love the beauty of this calculation.

  • @TheAlison1456
    @TheAlison1456 10 місяців тому +1

    good on that student, we get this cool video about how questionable wolfram is.
    also, respect for committing to holding the plushie.

  • @FilosSofo
    @FilosSofo 2 роки тому +3

    "Do you want to go there?! I'll take you there!"

  • @adityaekbote8498
    @adityaekbote8498 2 роки тому +10

    "....But just don't regret it" complex world has never been a regret

  • @46sauravdubey31
    @46sauravdubey31 2 роки тому

    I am just happy that i knew it all before i watched the video. And yet i watched the whole video and received the same satisfaction.
    Math you are such a lovely thing to watch.

  • @olivialambert4124
    @olivialambert4124 2 роки тому +1

    That was a real journey. Its satisfying when things cancel out to that degree. Even more satisfying when I'm not the one looking for the solution for half an hour.

  • @user-dq6ou3nu1u
    @user-dq6ou3nu1u 2 роки тому +22

    Rip students who will have this question in their test

    • @bobh6728
      @bobh6728 2 роки тому +1

      Either the teacher/professor has to specify which number field you are using or be prepared to accept both answers. Woe to the students who is required to show their work if they put down pi as the answer.

    • @redking36
      @redking36 2 роки тому

      His first answer makes sense though. Cos^-1(x) gives the angle that produces cos(angle)=x. It doesn’t really make sense for anything above 1 or below -1 to work.

  • @kaiserdaniman
    @kaiserdaniman 2 роки тому +5

    Had you written 🎂 instead of π and you would have gotten the same result, since you didn't make use of any special properties of π. The only reason for saying that arccos(x) is only defined for x between -1 and 1 is for using real numbers, but cos(acos(x)) is always x if x is not infinity.

  • @anuragmahajan5919
    @anuragmahajan5919 2 роки тому +2

    Your videos are awesome and have inspired me a lot. I just wish that you were my teacher, especially for Calculus and advanced mathematics.

  • @milkman911
    @milkman911 2 роки тому +1

    In love with this channel

  • @smith899
    @smith899 2 роки тому +4

    That was fun! 💕

  • @alexandrechamusk
    @alexandrechamusk 2 роки тому +5

    Questão muito interessante, legal esse tipo de saída, por mais extensa que seja, é sempre bom verificarmos e relação existente entre campos diferentes. Está de parabéns aí Professor 👏👏👏🤝

  • @lapispyrite6645
    @lapispyrite6645 2 роки тому +2

    I’m just really happy that it is commutative after all if you go into the complex plane.

  • @RomanoPRODUCTION
    @RomanoPRODUCTION 2 роки тому +1

    Great plot twist. Thank you!

  • @abcdf7128
    @abcdf7128 2 роки тому +3

    Another way to prove the undefined is to show the function is not surjective hence it doesn't have Invers and there exist elements in image that doesn't have corresponding elements in the domain.and yes it's not surjective so the Invers doesn't exist so the expression in the thumbnail doesn't exist unless you restrict the function to the defined set.

  • @emmettdja
    @emmettdja Рік тому +1

    "if you would like this on the test, please! let me know!"
    bro just won the argument in a single sentence.

  • @RealFreshDuke
    @RealFreshDuke 6 місяців тому

    Hey, great video, as always! But what would have been even cooler is to see on the 2nd half of the board/video how the complex form of cos^-1(w) yields real solutions if you plug in something between -1 and 1 (maybe 0 or +/-1 to make it easier) and how it yields complex solutions if you put in Pi.

  • @AhmedHan
    @AhmedHan 2 роки тому +6

    Does the same thing happen with the sine function?
    sin(sin^-1(pi)) = ?

    • @blackpenredpen
      @blackpenredpen  2 роки тому +2

      Yes

    • @t.minojan7029
      @t.minojan7029 2 роки тому +1

      @@blackpenredpen
      Dear sir
      we know cos^2 pi = (cos pi)^2
      in same way
      Cos^(-1) pi = (cos pi)^-1
      =sec pi
      but why values are different for cos^(-1) pi and sec pi

    • @ghostboi71
      @ghostboi71 2 роки тому +2

      @@t.minojan7029 Because, cos^(-1) pi = (cos pi)^-1 can't be true.
      Indeed, cos^(-1) is a inverse function which is different one.
      The domain is angle and range is ratio.

    • @AhmedHan
      @AhmedHan 2 роки тому +5

      @@ghostboi71 He is just criticizing that we write "sin^-1" instead of "arcsin". He is correct on this though.

    • @t.minojan7029
      @t.minojan7029 2 роки тому

      ok i understand it
      Thank you

  • @AnakinSkywalker-zq6lm
    @AnakinSkywalker-zq6lm 2 роки тому +3

    Wait till I challenge master yoda to a math duel

  • @Peter-qv6ke
    @Peter-qv6ke Рік тому

    That’s fantastic to watch this instead of using hard formulas to solve it❤

  • @thorH.
    @thorH. 2 роки тому

    Awesome, now I want to learn all the complex definitions of these functions

  • @sashimanu
    @sashimanu 2 роки тому +6

    If you’re going through complex world, keep going
    (After Winston Churchill)

    • @darbyl3872
      @darbyl3872 2 роки тому

      Or else you will become imaginary forever!

  • @albertwestbrook4813
    @albertwestbrook4813 2 роки тому +7

    "I'ld be glad to put this on the test for you. " -- Evil, Evil! Evil! What a difference a domain makes! Brains beat calculators every time.

  • @Porny821
    @Porny821 2 роки тому

    dude did that all in one whiteboard. masterful

  • @kioku2022
    @kioku2022 2 роки тому

    Beautiful! Maths always make me smile

  • @yannleguennec4368
    @yannleguennec4368 2 роки тому +3

    Well since u express cos-1(z) as the reciprocal of cos(z), u just need to prove that cos-1 is define for pi.
    The second part is weird, of course cos(cos-1(pi))=pi if cos-1(pi) exist.

    • @carultch
      @carultch 2 роки тому

      cos^(-1) (z) has nothing to do with the reciprocal of cos(z). That is an unfortunate coincidence that it has a notation that looks like it is implying a reciprocal. The reciprocal of cos(z) is called sec(z) whose full name is secant of z.

  • @ieatgarbage8771
    @ieatgarbage8771 2 роки тому +8

    So, if you ever see 3 variable terms offset by 1 in the exponent, you can use the quadratic formula

    • @rytan4516
      @rytan4516 2 роки тому +1

      Not only if they're offset by 1, but also if they're offset by the same arbitrary constant.

    • @ieatgarbage8771
      @ieatgarbage8771 2 роки тому +1

      @@rytan4516 yeayea

  • @djsona5428
    @djsona5428 2 роки тому +1

    Not in school, but easy sub, well done man I love the explanation and now I need to go learn a lot more to better understand it all.

  • @No5712
    @No5712 2 роки тому

    this is the definition of fucking around and finding out

  • @j0code
    @j0code 2 роки тому +3

    logic already states that cos(cos-1(pi)) has to be pi, but this, this is beautiful.

    • @drewmandan
      @drewmandan 2 роки тому

      Logic does not state that at all. You only think it does because you don't understand the notation. cos(cos^-1) (x) means FIRST apply cos inverse, and then AFTER that apply cos.

  • @Sorya-gf7qw
    @Sorya-gf7qw 2 роки тому +9

    Since we never used value of Pi in whole process and assume pi is just another Greek letter then
    can't we just say that
    Cos(arccos k) = k , where k is any number on number line ?

    • @infiinight126
      @infiinight126 2 роки тому +5

      yes. also because composition of functions are associative, therefore we can cancel out cos and arccos and be left with k. the issue here was that k was not in the domain of arccos in the real domain, so it was a matter of showing that the function composition is well-defined for k for the complex domain

    • @lesubtil7653
      @lesubtil7653 2 роки тому

      ​@@infiinight126 "composition of functions are associative". What does it have to do with the problem? And how can we infer that we can "cancel cos and arccos and be left with k"? You haven't proven your point yet. Because to use and argument of associativity requires three elements, and hier we have only two. So you just compose one more time with arccos? It does not solve the problem neither...
      Furthermore, you assumed (if I understood what you said) that cos and cos⁻¹ were functions. At any case, for your reasoning to be true, since you assumed cos and cos⁻¹ are "composed", cos⁻¹ and cos have to be functions.
      But the problem is that cos⁻¹ is NOT defined for |x| > 1, if you do not define it more specifically. Indeed, we saw in the video that there are an infinite number of values of y that verifiy cos⁻¹(x) = y when x = pi for example. And if we suppose that cos⁻¹ is defined for x = pi, y = cos⁻¹(x) can only have ONE value, which is not the case. therefore the foolwing application: R -> R ; x |--> cos⁻¹(x) is totally meaningless.
      Remember, the formal definition of an application is: An application is the set of three sets E,F, and G of ExF verifying: 1. for all x of E, there exists y of F such as (x,y) is in G and 2. For all ((x,y),(x',y')) of (ExF)², x = x' => y = y'.

    • @infiinight126
      @infiinight126 2 роки тому

      @@lesubtil7653 I suppose I wasn't clear. Yes there is 2 functions but u can artificially insert the identity function and then apply the cancellation by proving that they are invertible and inverses of each other. Specifically, we can define the cos by restricting the domain to the principal values([0,pi] -> [-1,1]. As for cos^-1 not being a function, we can simply define the codomain appropriately to make it a function ([-1, 1]->[0,pi]). That is why I said that it is about establishing that the function is well defined.

    • @monny1815
      @monny1815 2 роки тому

      It is true and in fact is it exactly the point of the arccos, it's the inverse function to the cosine, which means that cos(arccos(x))=x and arccos(cos(x))=x . Of course though, the identity only holds for the values in which the function is defined and is injective, just like any invertible function. In the case of the real cosine, for example, we have to work with the intervals ]0,pi[ and [0,1], while for complex numbers we can relax the restriction and find the identity satisfied on a much larger subset, but the point is still that where the functions are defined, arccos will behave this way almost by definition.

  • @Drebin2293
    @Drebin2293 10 місяців тому +1

    I hate it when teachers say something has no solution when it does. Just say it has a solution, but it involves higher levels of math that we won't be covering. I hated that when I was in school.

  • @gamplie
    @gamplie 2 роки тому

    I have no idea what’s happening, but those slick switches between red and blue deserve a like.