Re: Help with confirmation on a small bit of assembly?

["Jeff Blakeney" <jeff.blakeney@a2central.com.remove-5ke-this>]

  To: Don Bruder
On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:45:44 -0800, "Don Bruder" <dakidd@sonic.net>
wrote:

>In article <tIOdnR0PWdX63yDYnZ2dnUVZ_rGinZ2d@comcast.com>,
> "Alex Freed" <alexf@mirrow.com> wrote:
>
>> This also answers your question "What's so imaginary about that?"
>
>Really? Please, write down the value of "i". To keep it simple, an 
>approximation to the 3rd decimal place will be sufficient. 
>
>Show your work. 
>
>(Do that, and I'll believe in imaginary numbers :) )

Hmm, its seems I've kicked off a bit of an off topic branch in this
thread.  Whoops.  :-)

At any rate, to answer your question, by definition i is the value.
Asking for someone to prove the value of i is like asking someone to
prove the value of 3.  They are both simply symbols that we humans
have defined a certain way.  We use the symbol for pi because we can't
express an exact value in our current system so to be completely
accurate, we use the symbol instead.  If we solve an equation with pi
in it we only get an approximation unless you want to spend an
infinite amount of time solving the equation.  :-)

>> One thing that is even stranger is that all the "infinities" (if this word 
>> has a plural form)
>> are the same point on the plane.
>
>Eh... I don't  think that holds, seeing as they are, by definition, an 
>infinite distance apart... Rather difficult for two points an infinite 
>distance apart to be/occupy the same point, wouldn't you agree?

Not really.  Conisder +infinity to be the top of a circle and 0 to be
the bottom of the circle.  Therefore, the top of the circle is also
-infinity.  Another neat thing about this analogy is that the
circumference, diameter, radius and area of the circle are all
infinite as well.  :-)

-- 
Jeff Blakeney
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