A Russian teacher has been asked to remove a mathematics problem from the Internet after he inadvertently revealed who most Russians believe is the country’s most powerful figure.
“(Russian President Dmitry) Medvedev must guess the number imagined by (Prime Minister Vladimir) Putin or he will be fired from his post as president. How can he save his position?” read the problem, posted by Saint Petersburg teacher Grigory Chepichev for the children in his mathematics club.
“There was nothing political in this mathematical problem, which I invented with my colleagues for the children. It’s simply to make the problems more fun, more interesting for the students,” he told AFP.
The problem nonetheless seems to have raised eyebrows and Chepichev said he had removed it from the club’s Web site “at the request of the authorities.”
Putin ruled Russia as president for the maximum two consecutive terms allowed by the constitution from 2000-2008 and then handed over to Medvedev, ruling in tandem in a powerful partnership.
Many still consider Putin the most powerful man in Russia, however, and Putin has hinted that he may seek to return to the Kremlin during presidential elections in 2012.
In full the mathematical problem is as follows: “Vladimir Putin names three two-digit numbers, a, b and c. Dmitry Medvedev has to in turn name three other numbers, X, Y and Z.”
“Putin then gives him the sum aX+bY+cZ. Medvedev must guess the answer, otherwise he will be sacked from the presidency.”
(AFP)
有位俄國教師因為在網路上給學生出了一道數學題,無意間使人聯想起該道題目意有所指的透露俄國最有權勢的領導人,而遭要求刪除該題。
由聖彼得堡一位老師葛力格里‧切比切夫給數學社團學生所出的題目是,「(俄國總統迪米特里)梅德維傑夫必須猜出總理夫拉提米‧普丁內心所想的數字,否則當總統的他將遭到撤換。他要如何保有總統寶座?」
他告訴法新社,「這題數學裡沒有什麼政治議題,這是我與同事為孩子所設計的題目。這只是要讓題目比較有趣,引起學生的興趣。」
雖然如此,這題數學似乎引起各方注意,而切比切夫表示他「依照有關單位的要求」,將該題數學自網路上移除。
普丁總統依照憲法所規定的最長年限,自二零零零年至二零零八年當了兩任俄國總統,將政權轉給梅德維傑夫,二人聯手執政,形成有力的組合。
然而許多人依然認為,普丁為俄國最有權勢的人,而普丁也暗示,將於二零一二年透過總統選舉回到克里姆林宮。
數學題大致上是這樣寫的:「夫拉提米‧普丁心裡想著三個數字a、b與c。隨後迪米特里‧梅德維傑夫也得想三個數字X、Y與Z。」
「於是普丁列了個式子aX+bY+cZ。梅德維傑夫必須猜對答案,否則他將自總統的職位被解雇。」
(法新社/翻譯:吳岱璟)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
It’s another school day with the same ritual. You wake up to your smartphone’s alarm, scroll through messages during your commute, and listen to your favorite playlist with your wireless earbuds between classes. These devices, integrated smoothly into your daily routine, certainly make life more convenient. However, where do these devices end up after you replace them? In fact, the issue of electronic waste is a growing global concern. According to the United Nations, in 2019 alone, we generated an astonishing 53.6 million tons of e-waste—an average of 7.3kg per person. Projections hint at the figure soaring to 110