[Python-Dev] FP vs. tutorial

[Michel Pelletier]

On Tue, 22 May 2001, Mark Hammond wrote:

> > > + Happy to add text explaining the existence of surprises, and
> > >   providing a URL.  Do the floating-point morons <wink> on Python-Dev
> > >   find this one comprehensible?:
> 
> Hey - I resemble that remark!

As they say in the south, "mah-self"

> > >     http://www.lahey.com/float.htm
> 
> I quite liked the tone of this note.  The Python-dev morons probably could
> make good sense of this, but only due to the relentless persistence of a
> certain timbot.

I liked the tone too, but it really goes into a lot of detail, there's
this problem, and that one, oh and also *this* one and then there's *that*
and the other thing, and after a while you get the impression that
floating-point is for the insane.

> If not for Tim, I would have forgotten completely about binary floating
> point versus decimal floating point.  IIRC, me and about 40 other guys were
> desperately trying to get the attention of the single CS female on the day
> that lecture was given.  (Actually, that is a pretty safe bet - _all_
> lectures were spent that way :)

<sidetrack> 
The funny thing about that is we were in *Long Beach* (I
assume you mean IPC9), if you wanted to see beautiful, scarcely clothed
women in an acceptable public venue you woudn't have had to go far, and
they would have probably had more interesting "significant bits" (it's
none of anyones business where *I* was during the lectures ;).

Someone on the Zope list proposed P4W (Python for Women).  Poor, desperate
souls.  Obviously, P4E includes them too!!
</sidetrack>

> > I was thinking more of immortalizing this one:
> >
> > http://www.python.org/cgi-bin/moinmoin/RepresentationError
> 
> IMO, this is a little worse.

I agree.  Equations should not be needed to explain this.

-Michel