this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2024
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Science Memes
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a/b is the unique solution x to a = bx, if a solution exists. This definition is used for integers, rationals, real and complex numbers.
Defining a/b as a * (1/b) makes sense if you're learning arithmetic, but logically it's more contrived as you then need to define 1/b as the unique solution x to bx = 1, if one exists, which is essentially the first definition.
That's me, a degree-holding full time computer scientist, just learning arithmetic I guess.
Bonus question: what even is subtraction? I'm 99% sure it doesn't exist since I've never used it, I only ever use addition.
Addition by the additive inverse.
Now you just replaced one incalculable thing with a different incalculable thing.
Eh?
Computers don't subtract, and you can't just add a negative, a computer can't interpret a negative number, it can only store a flag that the number is negative. You need to use a couple addition tricks to subtract to numbers to ensure that the computer only has to add. It's addition all the way down.
What does this have to do with computers?