Comments on: Intuitive Arithmetic With Complex Numbers http://betterexplained.com/articles/intuitive-arithmetic-with-complex-numbers/ Learning shouldn't hurt. Let's share the insights that made difficult ideas click. Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:42:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0 by: Paulodic http://betterexplained.com/articles/intuitive-arithmetic-with-complex-numbers/#comment-172301 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:39:48 +0000 http://betterexplained.com/articles/intuitive-arithmetic-with-complex-numbers/#comment-172301 Thank you, from Argentina Thank you, from Argentina

]]> by: Kalid http://betterexplained.com/articles/intuitive-arithmetic-with-complex-numbers/#comment-153033 Fri, 09 May 2008 06:14:45 +0000 http://betterexplained.com/articles/intuitive-arithmetic-with-complex-numbers/#comment-153033 @Zac: Great point -- I think I ran across Knuth's system a while ago, and agree it's interesting but not very practical. I'd love it if we'd rewrite a+bi into something more "combined" to show that they are really two parts of the same number (just like 3 + 1/2 is better expressed by 3.5). @Zac: Great point — I think I ran across Knuth’s system a while ago, and agree it’s interesting but not very practical. I’d love it if we’d rewrite a+bi into something more “combined” to show that they are really two parts of the same number (just like 3 + 1/2 is better expressed by 3.5).

]]> by: Zac http://betterexplained.com/articles/intuitive-arithmetic-with-complex-numbers/#comment-152324 Wed, 07 May 2008 02:04:47 +0000 http://betterexplained.com/articles/intuitive-arithmetic-with-complex-numbers/#comment-152324 There is already a way to write complex numbers without addition in a nice form that avoids addition and even "i", but it goes under the category of "interesting but useless": the Quaternary Imaginary number system, base 2i. Donald Knuth created it, and it's an interesting theoretical idea, but quite useless. On another note, I'm all for rewriting "a+bi" as aib. It makes it more obvious that it's one number, and not two separate numbers. There is already a way to write complex numbers without addition in a nice form that avoids addition and even “i”, but it goes under the category of “interesting but useless”: the Quaternary Imaginary number system, base 2i. Donald Knuth created it, and it’s an interesting theoretical idea, but quite useless.

On another note, I’m all for rewriting “a+bi” as aib. It makes it more obvious that it’s one number, and not two separate numbers.

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