Tim Daneliuk wrote: > Grzegorz Słodkowicz wrote: [...] >> You're mixing definition with application. You didn't say a word about >> what complex numbers are, not a word about the imaginary unit, where > > I was trying to motivate the idea by means of analogy. This is a > legitimate thing to do. It helps lead people to a conceptual understanding > long before they understand the minutae. I am well aware of the > imaginary unit and from whence complex analysis springs. I just didn't > think that was the best place to start explicating the *concept*.
Gotta side with Grzegorz on this. Simplifying an explanation of complex numbers to the point of omitting the imaginary unit helps lead people to a conceptual *misunderstanding*. I don't like feeling confused, but where I really screw up is where I think I understand what I do not. -- --Bryan -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list