Taleb flubs a math problem, forgets complex numbers, then deletes his reply

OwariDa · x · 2026-11-09

Someone posted a problem asking for the maximum of f(x) = sin⁶x + cos⁶x. Nassim Nicholas Taleb replied "no computation needed... Max is 1." OwariDa points out Taleb forgot complex numbers, where the maximum is unbounded — and Taleb deleted his reply instead of admitting the mistake.

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