Prisoner at War wrote:
>
> Herman Rubin wrote:
> >
> >
> > In this case, who cares? It conveys the same meaning.
> >
> > Likewise, in the simple case of the binomial theorem,
> >
> > (x + y)^2 = x^2 + 2xy + y^2,
> >
> > it does not matter if the "y" is pronounced "why" or "ygrec".
>
> Depends on the context. Obviously, if one did not know French or the
> history of Latin "y" saying "y grec" could be confusing.
Perhaps Herman Rubin's point was this. The binomial theorem says this:
(x + squiggle)^2 = x^2 + 2x*squiggle + squiggle^2,
where in place of "squiggle" you write some convenient symbol and utter
some convenient sound. The information you convey is not adversely
affected by (reasonable) choices of symbol/sound.
(If that wasn't HR's point then my apologies!)
--
"The Academy is too large and too vulgar. Whenever I have gone
there, there have been either so many people that I have not been
able to see the pictures, which was dreadful, or so many pictures
that I have not been able to see the people, which was worse."
|
