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I think that calling numbers with a sqrt(-1) component "imaginary numbers" was a terrible decision. It makes a lot of people, especially students, think of them
by ethmarks 10mo ago
I think that calling numbers with a sqrt(-1) component "imaginary numbers" was a terrible decision. It makes a lot of people, especially students, think of them as pure-math nonsense without any practical applications. I think that "lateral numbers" would have been much better.
- Ferret7446 10mo agoThey are imaginary though. They aren't the only made up model/concept that has practical application, just take a look at positive charges or Newtonian physics
- ethmarks 10mo agoYou can't hold -5 apples any more than you can hold 5i apples, and yet we don't call numbers below zero "pretend numbers". I'm not arguing that imaginary numbers aren't imaginary, I'm arguing that calling them "imaginary" was dumb and creates a psychological barrier for students.
- Dylan16807 10mo agoMost kinds of number are imaginary. That's not how you name things. And "real" numbers introduce tons of wackiness, much more than gets introduced when you expand "real" numbers to "complex" numbers.
- immibis 10mo agoAnd irrational numbers and negative numbers should be called "extraordinary numbers" and "reflected numbers" of course, of course.