From: Ian Goddard (Ian@Goddard.net)
Date: Sun Feb 14 1999 - 15:14:29 MST
At 03:35 PM 2/14/99 -0500, John Clark wrote:
>Ian Goddard:
>
> > "No answer" means the answer is the same as zero.
>
>The solution of the equation 1/0 = X is not zero, the problem has
>no solution.
IAN: My calculator says it has a solution called
"error." Are you saying that the answer = error? :)
But of course 1/0 is generally considered to be
infinity, yet, like answers for 0/0, it runs into
problems that render it undefined or indeterminate.
So I think rather than it having "no solution" it
is more exactly stated that divide by zero does
have solutions, but they lead to contradictions,
and thus all /0 solutions are defined as errors.
So, does the "no" in "There is no answer" mean
"error" or "nothing" as in "void"? I see it to
mean that the answer is void, it doesn't exist.
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