Re: HELP!! (implied multiplication)
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Re: HELP!! (implied multiplication)
I completely disagree. Neither evaluation of 10/2x is undefined, and thus
to make it undefined simply because it is ambiguous is foolish. I wonder
how you would measure up to either TI or HP's numerical analysis staff?
Think about what you're saying before you go criticizing others.
You say that these devices should be an adjunct to teaching, and I
completely agree with you. There is, however, a certain amount of learning
necessary before one can use almost ANY complex tool. Modern
graphing/programmable calculators are no exception to the case. Your
suggestion that instructors ought to be able to reference this type of
equation without checking the specifics is like getting in a car and hitting
the gas without checking to see if there is a brake or not.
-Doc
-----Original Message-----
From: Bob Wheeler <bwheeler@ECHIP.COM>
>Both TI and HP have made poor choices in this. Expressions such as 10/2x
>should be undefined because it is ambiguous. Neither TI nor HP seem to have
>had talented people in numerical analysis when they put their software
>together, and hence this sort of problem occurs frequently, due in large
part
>to the desire of programers for a "friendly" calculator. It is a shame,
since
>both companies produce devices that should be an adjunct to teaching:
>something that instructors ought to able to reference in general without
>having to check the
>specifics themselves. This is just the tip of the iceberg. When one gets
into
>the algorithms involved in integration, differential equations, linear
>algebra, etc. the situation is bad indeed. There is no excuse for this,
since
>the calculators have the capacity to do things both correctly and faster..
>
>--
>Bob Wheeler --- (Reply to: bwheeler@echip.com)
> ECHIP, Inc.
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