Hi there,
This is primarily for fun.
This probably is not the write forum to post in - but I do not know what branch of mathematics my question fits into and there does not seem to be a "General maths questions" forum.
I do not have a strong back ground in maths, so please be patient.
I would like to come up with my own formula for calculating the best place for me to travel to for a holiday. So for example, I would list things that are important to me and then give them a score from -10 to 10:
Climate (C)
Sights (S)
Wildlife (W)
Negative values would indicate things I don't want (a hot climate, or boring sights), whereas positive values would indicate things I do want (moderate, low humidity climate, and interesting sights). Negative values for wildlife would mean snakes, crocodiles, etc etc, while positive values would indicate an interesting birds and lizards. The values would be "Net", so wildlife either has a net positive value or a net negative value.
With these basic factors, I think a formula would be easy to come up with x = (C + S + W). The place with the highest value for x would "win".
However, I want to take into account the relative importance of the values. For example, the wildlife value for me is far more important than both the C and S values. So perhaps the formula could become: x = (C + S + 2W). This indicates that the W value is twice as important as the C and S value.
However, I consider a negative value for W to be even more important overall than a positive W value (I really don't want to visit a place with snakes). So I need to find aware to make the formula reflect the fact that I consider a negative net value for W should drastically reduce x.
Another thing I just realised is that if two negative numbers are multiplied, I will get a postive number. So this means I need to find away to ensure that "2W", will not turn a negative value into a positive.
Because I don't want to go to a war zone in any circumstances, I would add a war value (D) that can be either 1 or 0 (depending on if the country is a war zone). So the formula would now look like this: x = D(C + S + 2W). If D has a value of 0, then x will be calculated as 0. Resulting in war always eliminating a country off the list of countries to visit.
What I would like is:
(1) for someone to suggest what sort of mathematics I should learn in order to come up with a more complex version of this formula (and others like it)?
(2) to solve the problem I am having with a negative value of W becoming positive when it is multiplied.
(3) how to give a negative value of W greater relative weight than a positive valued W (perhaps 4x for a negative value compared to 2x for a positive value).
(4) general comments or suggestions (what would you do different to me? What would you add to the formula?)
(5) more suggestions on improvement
Thank you for your help
This is primarily for fun.
This probably is not the write forum to post in - but I do not know what branch of mathematics my question fits into and there does not seem to be a "General maths questions" forum.
I do not have a strong back ground in maths, so please be patient.
I would like to come up with my own formula for calculating the best place for me to travel to for a holiday. So for example, I would list things that are important to me and then give them a score from -10 to 10:
Climate (C)
Sights (S)
Wildlife (W)
Negative values would indicate things I don't want (a hot climate, or boring sights), whereas positive values would indicate things I do want (moderate, low humidity climate, and interesting sights). Negative values for wildlife would mean snakes, crocodiles, etc etc, while positive values would indicate an interesting birds and lizards. The values would be "Net", so wildlife either has a net positive value or a net negative value.
With these basic factors, I think a formula would be easy to come up with x = (C + S + W). The place with the highest value for x would "win".
However, I want to take into account the relative importance of the values. For example, the wildlife value for me is far more important than both the C and S values. So perhaps the formula could become: x = (C + S + 2W). This indicates that the W value is twice as important as the C and S value.
However, I consider a negative value for W to be even more important overall than a positive W value (I really don't want to visit a place with snakes). So I need to find aware to make the formula reflect the fact that I consider a negative net value for W should drastically reduce x.
Another thing I just realised is that if two negative numbers are multiplied, I will get a postive number. So this means I need to find away to ensure that "2W", will not turn a negative value into a positive.
Because I don't want to go to a war zone in any circumstances, I would add a war value (D) that can be either 1 or 0 (depending on if the country is a war zone). So the formula would now look like this: x = D(C + S + 2W). If D has a value of 0, then x will be calculated as 0. Resulting in war always eliminating a country off the list of countries to visit.
What I would like is:
(1) for someone to suggest what sort of mathematics I should learn in order to come up with a more complex version of this formula (and others like it)?
(2) to solve the problem I am having with a negative value of W becoming positive when it is multiplied.
(3) how to give a negative value of W greater relative weight than a positive valued W (perhaps 4x for a negative value compared to 2x for a positive value).
(4) general comments or suggestions (what would you do different to me? What would you add to the formula?)
(5) more suggestions on improvement
Thank you for your help
