unsubscribe On 9/30/12, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote: > Send Tutor mailing list submissions to > [email protected] > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > [email protected] > > You can reach the person managing the list at > [email protected] > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Tutor digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Lotka-Volterra Model Simulation Questions (Alan Gauld) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2012 09:37:51 +0100 > From: Alan Gauld <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Tutor] Lotka-Volterra Model Simulation Questions > Message-ID: <[email protected]> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > On 29/09/12 23:57, Oscar Benjamin wrote: >> On 29 September 2012 22:57, Alan Gauld <[email protected] > >> My point is that we should not choose short names just to keep an >> expression on a single line.... >> >> in written math too. (Most of the equations I remember reading from >> my quantum mechanics days were split over at least 3 lines... trying >> >> I wouldn't advocate forcing an equation onto a single line if it doesn't >> fit on a single line. However, I'm sure that the equations you're >> refering to would have already been using lots of symbols described by >> very succinct single-greek/latin-letters and other simple glyphs. > > Yes which made them even more difficult to understand. > > > Now imagine replacing each of those single letter symbols > > with English underscore-separated words so instead of letter > > capital psi you would have 'time_dependent_wave_function' > > and instead of hbar you would have 'planks_constant_over_twopi' > > and so on. Your equation would go from three lines to thirty > > One of the things I like about programming is that I can take those > types of equations and break them into chunks and put them in > separate named functions. Then each term gets evaluated separately > and has a name that represents what it means in physical terms. > > <off topic rant> > One of the things that makes math hard for people to grasp is its > insistence on abstracting functions/values to single letter names etc. > (especially when those names are in a foreign language/symbology, > like Greek!) Of course, the abstraction is powerful in its own right > because it can then be applied in multiple domains, but that abstraction > is often the barrier to people understanding the > principle. Those that are "good at math" are often really those > who are "good at abstraction". > </off topic> > >> Now imagine replacing each of those single letter symbols with English >> underscore-separated words so instead of letter capital psi you would >> have 'time_dependent_wave_function' and instead of hbar you would have >> 'planks_constant_over_twopi' and so on. Your equation would go from >> three lines to thirty > > > -- > Alan G > Author of the Learn to Program web site > http://www.alan-g.me.uk/ > > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Tutor maillist - [email protected] > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/tutor > > > ------------------------------ > > End of Tutor Digest, Vol 103, Issue 145 > *************************************** >
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