News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:How Did Anyone Do Math in Roman Numerals? by blattimwind on Friday July 21, 2017 @07:38AM (#14819582)
An important facet to mathematics in general, that most are unaware of before studying it, is that the majority of proofs, especially those done in bachelor university courses, are purely notation. Other problems often become trivial to solve by using a different notation (e.g. polar form vs. points on the complex plane) as well.
Re:How Did Anyone Do Math in Roman Numerals? by Silhouette on Friday July 21, 2017 @08:46AM (#14819965)
An important facet to mathematics in general ... is that the majority of proofs ... are purely notation.

To the extent that this is true, how much do you think that is due to the notation itself, and how much is due to someone identifying the essential underlying concepts and then making those the basis for a good notation?

Re:How Did Anyone Do Math in Roman Numerals? by yomritoyj on Friday July 21, 2017 @10:19AM (#14820714)
Could you please elaborate. Just to take two elementary examples: the intermediate value theorem and the theorem that any two bases of a finite-dimensional vector space have the same number of vectors. I would have thought that both require mathematical ideas and not just notation.
Re:How Did Anyone Do Math in Roman Numerals? by gpawl on Friday July 21, 2017 @03:04PM (#14823021)
I think what you mean is that most proofs follow easily once proper definitions are chosen. Notation is a visualization of definitions.
Re:How Did Anyone Do Math in Roman Numerals? by isolli on Friday July 21, 2017 @07:40AM (#14819591)
What do you mean by that?