Whats the actual reach of a thing like the Fourier Transform?

>>8700920
You're making things too complicated. Fourier Transform simply means you can take any function and turn it into another function that is made up of nothing by sines and cosines. That's it. That's all it is. Of course any sine or cosine have a frequency to it, i.e. the thing in the parentheses. The Frequency domain is simply the range of all the different values in the sines and cosines.
You're being fooled by a pseudo intellectual to think it is anything beyond.

>>8700920
>If its able to separate into simple parts complex data, then can we synthesize human behavior and therefore make it predictable?

wat

>>8700920
"then can we synthesize human behavior and therefore make it predictable?"

You're definitely looking too deeply into it. It's simply another tool used in analysis of data in which you can obtain insight from frequencies within.

This is extremely useful when dealing with things like modulated signals in communication systems, general electrical signals, audio, etc.

It can be used to analyze human behavior as long as you can gather enough information in which a fourier transform will give you insight on the frequency of the action.

>>8700920
>can we synthesize human behavior with the fourier transform?
fucking imbecile

>>8700920
If you can come up with some function over time, even just a set of data points, you can take fourier series from it. Hell, you can do it to any data, really. Whether or not it's going to do anything meaningful depends entirely on what the data is and what you want to do with it.

Just like literally every other mathematical operation.

>>8700920
I'm an engineering undergrad. I'd be the first to admit that I have only a tenuous grasp on LaPlace and Fourier transforms, but I understand it and use it enough to know that while it is useful for things like system dynamics and control, it isn't magic. Both have been around for almost two centuries and are taught to most STEM majors in their freshmen or sophomore years.

File: 1486540743283.jpg (10KB, 320x320px) Image search: [Google]

10KB, 320x320px

>>8700920
I don't know how we can allow this type of brainletism in this place. I'm fucking angry

>>8700920
It works well on anything with frequency.

It can be applied to modelling human behaviour.
Suppose, for example, that you have measurements of the sleep state of test subjects as a function of time.
You could apply Fourier transform on the set and note that the base frequency of human sleeping cycle is about 24-25 hours.

You might also notice that there are better tools for analysing behaviour.

>>8700947
So then why don't we just Fournier transform all the hardest problems in physics into simple one made of sines and cosines and then run Machine Learning algorithms on them to solve all the mysteries of the universe in an afternoon?

hahaha fuck