Re: U2-darn few bugs...

["Patricia M. Godfrey" PriscaMG@xxxxxxxx]

Carl Distefano wrote:
> The negative exponent is defined to be the reciprocal of the positive
>exponent. That is, x^(-n) = 1/(x^n).
> ... [and later] a root is a fractional exponent, as in 2^(1/2) equals the square root of 2, so a
> negative
> root must be the reciprocal of the fractional exponent, as in
> 2^(-1/2) equals 1 over the square root of 2, or 1/(2^(1/2)).
My brother, a retired physicist who once taught practical math, and my
niece, a high school teacher who teaches math inter alia, both agree
with Carl. Surely there are many things in higher math that have little
or no relation to corporeal realities? IIRC, negative numbers are called
"imaginary."
--
Patricia M. Godfrey
priscamg@xxxxxxxx