[Edu-sig] computer algebra

[kirby urner]

On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 8:27 PM, Guido van Rossum <guido at python.org> wrote:

<<  SNIP >>

> There are different schools of thought about this actually. I don't
> think pride comes into it.

Well, *my* school is quite pompous about it.  We think "open oh" is for sissies.

But that's just us (quirky).  Others more sobering.

<< GOOD STUFF >>

>> Note that by "open oh" I'm not talking about "big oh", a different
>> notation that I don't think is redundant, agree with Knuth that if
>> your calculus book doesn't include it, you're probably in one of those
>> computer illiterate schools (ETS slave, whatever).
>
> I think that comment is a little out of line. BTW big Oh is not part
> of calculus, it's part of complexity theory, a totally different field
> (more relevant to computers than calculus though).
>

Not part of calculus as commonly taught today, but *would* be if
Donald Knuth had his way:

http://micromath.wordpress.com/2008/04/14/donald-knuth-calculus-via-o-notation/

Kirby

> --
> --Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)
>