The Takagi function τ: [0,1] → [0, 1] is a continuous non-differentiable function constructed by Takagi in 1903. The level sets L(y) = x : τ(x) = y of the Takagi function τ(x) are studied by introducing a notion of local level set into which level sets are partitioned. Local level sets are simple to analyze, reducing questions to understanding the relation of level sets to local level sets, which is more complicated. It is known that for a “generic” full Lebesgue measure set of ordinates y, the level sets are finite sets. In contrast, here it is shown for a “generic” full Lebesgue measure set of abscissas x, the level set L(τ(x)) is uncountable. An interesting singular monotone function is constructed associated to local level sets, and is used to show the expected number of local level sets at a random level y is exactly ( 3 2 ).
Let T be Takagi's continuous but nowhere-differentiable function. It is known that almost all level sets (with respect to Lebesgue measure on the range of T) are finite. We show that the most common cardinality of the level sets of T is two, and investigate in detail the set of ordinates y such that the level set at level y has precisely two elements. As a by-product, we obtain a simple iterative procedure for solving the equation T(x)=y. We show further that any positive even integer occurs as the cardinality of some level set, and investigate which cardinalities occur with positive probability if an ordinate y is chosen at random from the range of T. The key to the results is a system of set equations for the level sets, which are derived from the partial self-similarity of T. These set equations yield a system of linear relationships between the cardinalities of level sets at various levels, from which all the results of this paper flow. Let T be Takagi’s continuous but nowhere-differentiable function. This paper considers the size of the level sets of T both from a probabilistic point of view and from the perspective of Baire category. We first give more elementary proofs of three recently published results. The first, due to Z. Buczolich, states that almost all level sets (with respect to Lebesgue measure on the range of T) are finite. The second, due to J. Lagarias and Z. Maddock, states that the average number of points in a level set is infinite. The third result, also due to Lagarias and Maddock, states that the average number of local level sets contained in a level set is 3 2. In the second part of the paper it is shown that, in contrast to the above results, the set of ordinates y with uncountably infinite level sets is residual, and a fairly explicit description of this set is given. The final result of the paper is an answer to a question of Lagarias and Maddock: it is shown that most level sets (in the sense of Baire category) contain infinitely many local level sets, and that a continuum of level sets even contain uncountably many local level sets.