4 ms·
You might want to phrase it as the square root of negative one in the future.
by jackblemming 4y ago
You might want to phrase it as the square root of negative one in the future.
- osrec 4y agoWhy?
- RhysU 4y agoBecause "minus" is the boolean subtraction operator not the unary negation operator despite a lot of colloquial misuse by native speakers. The distinction is useful when reading aloud expressions like 3-(-2) as "three minus negative two".
- osrec 4y agoPerhaps, but "negative one" would sound a little odd to lot of people from certain countries, including the UK, where "minus one" is the standard way of referring to a negative number. We would be perfectly okay with hearing "three minus minus two" in mathematical context.