Re: OT: -1 (was Has anyone made a real conlang?)

On Tue, Apr 22, 2003 at 07:07:17AM -0700, Stone Gordonssen wrote:
> Several physics and mechanics problems in quantum mechanics. Though, even as
> a math/comp.sci major, I've never felt at ease with imaginary numbers - I
> keep thinking that if we have to make up such numbers, there's something
> wrong in our reasoning or premes from the start.
Ignoring the physics questions (which is probably why I went from
math/cs to straight math) complex numbers are an extension of the real
numbers closed under the square root operation. They also come in very
handing in analytical geometry: if you represent the plane by complex
numbers, a rotation is equivalent to multiplying by a complex number
whose complex absolute value equals 1 - e.g. multiplying a point by i is
like rotating it by 90 degrees.

If you don't like complex numbers, then you really don't like
quaternions, do you? (Quaterions, if you haven't run into them, are like
complex numbers, with j and k such that j^2=-1, k^2=-1, ij=-ji, jk=-kj,
and ijk=-1. Turns out they're sort of like a souped up form of vectors
no one uses because it's overkill.)

--
David Starner - dvdeug@email.ro
Ic sæt me on anum leahtrice, ða com heo and bát me!

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