Re: apples and oranges

["Bob Sciamanda" <trebor@velocity.net>]

> . . .
>  We have been taught from
> early grades that we can't add apples and oranges.   And we
> have been taught that multiplication is a shorthand for
> repetative addition.  How come we can multiply apples and
> oranges and get something reasonable?  . . .
> Ed Eckel
> Georgetown Day School


When I multiply x times y I am adding y to itself x times,  so I am
adding together only things of the same kind.

Bob Sciamanda
Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (ret)
trebor@velocity.net
http://www.velocity.net/~trebor