[Numpy-discussion] ?

[Steve Holden]

Rainer Deyke wrote:
> 
> "Steve Holden" <sholden at holdenweb.com> wrote in message
> news:39F8DB20.C9FBE4ED at holdenweb.com...
> > I can understand and* appreciate all the arguments suggesting that
> > division of two integers should yield a non-integer result.  Maybe
> > I've just been programming too long, so I have fixed ideas about
> > how the integers should behave in programming, which is NOT the way
> > they behave in mathematics.
> 
> It should be noted that kids in school typically learn integer division with
> remainder before they learn about fractions or decimal numbers.
> 

Indeed.  But this stick-in-the-mud still holds to the belief that
arithmetic and mathematics are two different (albeit realted) things,
despite the fact that Americans (presidential candidates included)
insist on calling it "math".

In mathematics, of course, the integers were generalised into the rationals
precisely because of their unsatisfactroy behaviour with relation to
division: they aren't closed wrt that operation.  Then, of course, some
non-rationals were discovered, leading to the rationals.  And complex
numbers came about because the reals and rationals weren't closed over
exponentiation (or some such: remember I'm a computer scientist, and
therefore as a mathematician I'm more of a plumber).

The-more-you-invent-the-more-you-need-to-invent-ly yr's - steve
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