Word Problem

The term word problem has several meanings:

  • word problem (mathematics education) is a type of textbook problem designed to help students apply abstract mathematical concepts to "real-world" situations
  • word problem (mathematics) is a decision problem for algebraic identities in mathematics and computer science
  • word problem for groups is the problem of recognizing the identity element in a finitely presented group
  • word problem (computability) is a decision problem concerning formal languages

Famous quotes containing the words word and/or problem:

    “Pike Bishop: He gave his word.
    Dutch: He gave his word to a railroad.
    Pike Bishop: It’s his word.
    Dutch: That ain’t what counts. It’s who you give it to.”
    —Walon Green, U.S. screenwriter, and Sam Peckinpaugh (b. 1925)

    “What had really caused the women’s movement was the additional years of human life. At the turn of the century women’s life expectancy was forty-six; now it was nearly eighty. Our groping sense that we couldn’t live all those years in terms of motherhood alone was “the problem that had no name.” Realizing that it was not some freakish personal fault but our common problem as women had enabled us to take the first steps to change our lives.”
    —Betty Friedan (20th century)