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Re: 2 pi i = 0



At 5:25 PM -0700 11/22/02, Larry Smith wrote:
There are still two square
roots of 25, +5 and -5 (fundamental thm of alg is still true), but the
radical symbol (\sqrt{25}) only denotes the positive one. At least so the
modern algebra books say.

Since eighth grade Algebra One in 1961 - the surd symbol has only
represented the positive root. Maybe it was a post-Sputnik effort at
math reform??

I see it as being quite similar to the physics community changing
their tune about relativistic mass. Every generation gets to define
their own ultimate truths?

This posting is the position of the writer, not that of SUNY-BSC, NAU or the AAPT.