Talk:2748: Radians Are Cursed

Explain xkcd: It's 'cause you're dumb.
Revision as of 13:29, 11 March 2023 by 172.68.51.178 (talk)
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how do transcript 172.70.127.37 19:23, 10 March 2023 (UTC)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_degree may be of some help with this one. 162.158.166.124 19:44, 10 March 2023 (UTC)

The comic isn't actually correct. A radian is not equal to the length of a circle's radius; it is equal to the length of the radius, multiplied by 2π, divided by the perimeter, which is why it has no units, while the length does. In other words, radian/2pi=length of radius/length of perimeter. 172.70.46.84 19:51, 10 March 2023 (UTC)

As suggested by the above Wikipedia link, square degrees are in fact often used in astronomical contexts. Also, it's quite standard to say that radian=1; see for example SI derived unit. An angle is the ratio between the arc length and the radius, and we just optionally append "radian" for clarity. So 1 = 57.3 degrees is correct; Randall simply used the wrong argument to obtain it. Aseyhe (talk) 20:57, 10 March 2023 (UTC)

I always understood radian to be the name of the unit, so by definition 1 radian=1. Barmar (talk) 21:17, 10 March 2023 (UTC)
It is a shame that astronomers don't use the proper unit for such things: the steradian. It is literally there for describing the 3D equivalent of angle. Oh well... --172.69.79.137 04:16, 11 March 2023 (UTC)

Someone fix the vandalism, how do you upload images? --Purah126 (talk) 03:06, 11 March 2023 (UTC)

I'm doing it but that user needs to be blocked.
To revert images, scroll down and click the revert link next to the last good version.
And do not feed the trolls. ~ Megan she/her talk/contribs 03:10, 11 March 2023 (UTC)

On reading this I vividly remembered a maths teacher once asking our class "What's 10% of a straight line?", and the looks of disgust and bewilderment when he said the answer was 18 degrees. 172.70.86.147 08:31, 11 March 2023 (UTC)

I just hope that was Celsius degrees (or Kelvin), rather than Fahrenheit(/Rankine). ;) 172.71.242.190 10:51, 11 March 2023 (UTC)
If you use Kelvin with degrees you have already lost...172.68.51.178 13:29, 11 March 2023 (UTC)