Re: Dumb polynomial question

On Fri, 9 May 2008, AngleWyrm wrote:
> "Chip Eastham" <hardmath@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> > On May 9, 8:10 am, "AngleWyrm" <anglew...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >> Here's a polynomial:
> >>
> >> x^3 + x^2 + x
> >>
> >> A volume plus an area plus a length.
> >> I'm totally not understanding why this exists.
> >
> > Sometimes a polynomial is only a polynomial.
> >
> > You are ascribing units of length to the unknown
> > x.  It's not necessarily so.  One might consider
> > complex values for x with no units of measurement
> > (a pure number).  It depends on the application.
>
> Are you saying that polynomial numbers cannot have units of measure?
>
Polynomials are not numbers.  They are a particular type of algebraic
expression or formula.  No, algebraic expressions don't have units.
Math doesn't use units.  Physics does.

There are no such physical measurements as
.. . ft^3 + ft^2 + ft
.. . 10 ft^3 + 5 ft^2 + 1 ft