Re: naive question from a non-mathematician

N. Silver wrote:
John Smith wrote:


Are a real number x and a complex number whose real part is x and whose imaginary part is zero mathematically eqivalent? For example, is (real).123 mathematically eqivalent to (complex).123 + 0.0i?


The short answer is:
Yes, they are equal.

And the other short answer is:
No, they are different.

(It really is a matter of perspective on how you make your definitions and build up your framework of mathematics. But for all practical purposes, the short answer of "yes" is fine.)

Stephen
.

Loading