Re:Imaginary numbers are real
by SideburnsOfDoom on Monday July 25, 2022 @04:30AM
(#32221856)
Well, in that case the parent must ask themselves: am I doing geometry on an infinite cylinder or not?
For example, when you look at a world map under the Mercator projection and you want to know where the north and south poles should be on the map, the answer is +∞ and –∞, which are not the same.
In other contexts +∞ ≠ –∞ (e.g. log ±0 ≠ log ±∞; these quantities can be thought of as the two opposite ends of an infinite cylinder)