Does anyone here know if the mathematic term PHI is real???

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― Dana, Friday, 16 April 2004 03:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Absolutely not.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 16 April 2004 03:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Dr Phi McGraw? No way is he real.

― Autumn Almanac (Autumn Almanac), Friday, 16 April 2004 03:24 (twenty-two years ago)

it has been verified to a certain degree

― KL, Friday, 16 April 2004 03:26 (twenty-two years ago)

Yes, it is real. It refers to a coefficient in a statistical test. I encountered it in multidimensional scaling on survey data in anthropology. You will find it compared to Rho. And gamma, which is my fave.
Go to a multivariate statistics site and you will find a reference.

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 16 April 2004 04:21 (twenty-two years ago)

i should mention that these are all NON-PARAMETRIC statistics, which explains why you couldn't find them in a conventional math/stats book--it's a specialized field, called multidimensional scaling.

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 16 April 2004 04:41 (twenty-two years ago)

It is real. I've not heard of the use Orbit says, but she's probably correct, it's just a sumbol and can be used for whatever you want really.

I think it's a greek letter, lower case phi looks like a circle with a vertical line through it, protruding slightly above and below, and capital phi is the same thing but with short horizintal bars at the top and bottom of the line.

― mei (mei), Friday, 16 April 2004 05:25 (twenty-two years ago)

mei the mighty maths man!

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 16 April 2004 05:26 (twenty-two years ago)

phi is most commonly used in maths with regard to the golden ratio/ golden mean, popularised (if thats the right word) in the movie Pi and by the band Boards of Canada.
link with diagram here
i'm such a maths geek.

― zappi (joni), Friday, 16 April 2004 05:43 (twenty-two years ago)

uh, heres a better link

― zappi (joni), Friday, 16 April 2004 05:48 (twenty-two years ago)

and so for bonus geek points, yes phi is real, but irrational.
i'll shut up now. honest.

― zappi (joni), Friday, 16 April 2004 05:53 (twenty-two years ago)

phi is pronounced "phee" it's not the same as pi

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 16 April 2004 05:54 (twenty-two years ago)

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd900/d908/d908007fm2a.jpg

― Kingfish Balzac (Kingfish), Friday, 16 April 2004 05:56 (twenty-two years ago)

welllllll....phi is supposed to be pronounced fee, but if you asked a 100 mathematicians 99 would pronounce it fi. unless they were greek. hmmm.

― zappi (joni), Friday, 16 April 2004 06:02 (twenty-two years ago)

fee fi fo fum

― zappi (joni), Friday, 16 April 2004 06:03 (twenty-two years ago)

It is used in in engineering to signify the phase difference in sine waves.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 16 April 2004 06:04 (twenty-two years ago)

an in stats to talk about the distance between datapoints

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 16 April 2004 06:08 (twenty-two years ago)

I refuse to believe that it not used in thermodynamics or fluid dynamics, I can't be bothered to go check, but they use all the letters and make up symbols when they run out.

― Ed (dali), Friday, 16 April 2004 06:16 (twenty-two years ago)

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