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Ask HN: What is your favorite mathematical law or scientific principle? Why?

6 points by rblion ↗ HN
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Where better than here to ask this question and get quality responses from people who see the obvious value of math and science?

3 comments

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jblindsay
Tobler's first 'law' of geography: All things are related but nearer things are more related than distant things. This is the concept that describes regularity and order to all spatially variable phenomenon. It is essentially the concept of spatial autocorrelation. Without it, the world would be a chaotic place. Imagine if moving from one room to another meant you could encounter a 100-degree drop in temperature or if you had to regularly face a 100 m drop in elevation when walking 100 m down a road. It also means that we can infer an underlying spatial distribution from a sub-sample of point measurements, which is central to understanding most geographical phenomena.
daxat_staglatz
Power laws in economics [0]:

    Many of the insights of economics seem to be
    qualitative, with many fewer reliable quantitative laws.
    However a series of power laws in economics do count as
    true and nontrivial quantitative laws—and they are not
    only established empirically, but also understood
    theoretically.
    I will start by providing several illustrations of
    empirical power laws having to do with patterns involving
    cities, firms, and the stock market. I summarize some of
    the theoretical explanations that have been proposed.
    I suggest that power laws help us explain many economic
    phenomena, including aggregate economic fluctuations.
    I hope to clarify why power laws are so special, and to
    demonstrate their utility.
    In conclusion, I list some power-law-related economic
    enigmas that demand further exploration.
[0] https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/jep.30.1.185