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What is confusing is that the article introduces both derivatives (of a function and of a number) as D, when both are definitely not the same thing. EDIT: that
by glandium 12y ago
What is confusing is that the article introduces both derivatives (of a function and of a number) as D, when both are definitely not the same thing.
EDIT: that is, the fact that they have the same name and the same symbol is what's confusing.
- tel 12y agoFor better or worse that's very common. A big part of learning to read advanced math is keeping track of the "kind of thing" each variable is meant to be. If you do that, then overloading D is a convenience which illustrates similarities. But if you're not a professional mathematician then such overloading is terrifically confusing. Actually, I'm fairly certain it still is even for professional mathematicians.