At 07:05 PM 6/8/97 PDT, you wrote:

>I'm not convinced.  This sounds like one of those on-again off-again
>political points that public school systems make a fuss about
>teaching "correctly" while anyone who is actually a mathematician
>would look at you funny for even suggesting that there was anything
>wrong with "i = sqrt(-1)".
>
>And I assume that we are talking about real-world situations.  If you have
>real world formulas that involve sqrt(), failing to take the negative root
>into consideration can lead to incorrect answers (as I remember one problem
>pointing out, much to most of the class's chagrin...)  (Or was that an
>equation involving x^2, where you ended up taking sqrt() of both sides?)
>
>And it's "j", damit!

Hi Bill,

I think you are confused about what point I am supporting. I agree, there is
nothing wrong with i=sqrt(-1)
I think that it might be better if sqrt() had too answers, I agree. However,
since math is a science where scientists must be able to exchange ideas, we
must agree upon a convention for exactly what sqrt() means. I don't know why
it was agreed upon that it means positive root, but it was. In order that
there be no confusion, therefore, we use it. Maybe they defined it as only
the positive square root because, more often than not, the positive root is
what you want, and this way, no abs value bars are needed to express what
you mean.

The negative root IS normally taken into account, it is just done by using
the +/- sign. Maybe not the BEST way, but it is not forgotten. Also, "i" is
correct, as far as I know, for straight mathematics. In electronics, we use
"j", so as not to confuse it with the symbol for current. ( So I  have been
told. )

Sean