More apropos http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=+1%2F2+%2B+i2%2F3+*+1%2F2%2B2i%2F3
On Tue, Aug 7, 2012 at 6:45 PM, Ray Racine <[email protected]> wrote: > Wolfram > > http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=roots+x%5E2+%2B+2*x+%2B+10 > > > On Tue, Aug 7, 2012 at 6:28 PM, Matthias Felleisen > <[email protected]>wrote: > >> >> If it weren't against math conventions, I wouldn't mind seeing 1-i1 or >> 1/2+i2/3. But I am sure the people who produce Racket or Scheme or Lisp >> readers would hate me for that one, too. I think your students will need to >> cope, like all people who study sophisticated concepts (such as complex). >> >> Anyone know how Mathematica copes? >> >> >> On Aug 6, 2012, at 6:05 PM, Todd O'Bryan wrote: >> >> > I just discovered that the way you enter (and display) a number like >> > >> > 1/2 + (2/3)i >> > >> > in Racket (and Scheme, presumably) is 1/2+2/3i. >> > >> > I understand why that is, and can't think of what else to do, but has >> > anyone had students get confused because the form looks like the i is >> > in the denominator of the imaginary part? >> > >> > What's more potentially confusing is that 1/2+2i/3 is a legal >> > identifier in its own right. >> > >> > I'm working on a program that models basic algebra in the way that >> > high school students are taught to do it, and one of my self-imposed >> > rules has been that "math should look like math." In other words, I'm >> > trying to minimize the conversion gymnastics that students have to put >> > up with when they enter math in calculators or computer programs. In >> > that spirit, I'm not sure if it would be better to allow the >> > inconsistency with the way order of operations normally works or just >> > have students enter 1/2+(2/3)i (or 1/2+2i/3, maybe) and do the >> > conversion behind the scenes. >> > >> > Anyone have any thoughts or prejudices one way or the other? >> > >> > Todd >> > ____________________ >> > Racket Users list: >> > http://lists.racket-lang.org/users >> >> >> ____________________ >> Racket Users list: >> http://lists.racket-lang.org/users >> >> >
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