Hi Everyone,
I did a search through the archives and did not find an answer,
although I must admit it is a hard search to do ( ^0.5 is tough to
explicitly search for ).
I am sure there is some mathematically accurate reason to explain the
following, but I guess I either never learned it or have since forgotten it.
In 'R', when I type (for instance):
sqrt(-4)
I get
NaN
but if I type in:
-4 ^ 0.5
I get
-2
I presume this is on purpose and correct, but it's the first time I've
come across any theoretical difference between ^0.5 and sqrt. What is the
theoretical difference / meaning between these two operations?
Thanks!
Mike
---
[The theory of gravity] is to me so great an absurdity that I believe no
Man who has in philosophical matters a competent faculty of thinking can
ever fall into it. -- Isaac Newton
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