[REBOL] Re: Natural numbers
From: alekk::obywatel::pl at: 4-Jul-2001 21:42
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joel Neely" <[joel--neely--fedex--com]>
To: <[rebol-list--rebol--com]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2001 11:51 AM
Subject: [REBOL] Re: Natural numbers
> Hi, Alek,
>
> Alekk wrote:
> >
> > [...]
> > > the series of natural numbers
> > >
> > > 0 1 2 3 4 5 ....... infinity
> > >
> > > which is the first number? 0 or 1 ?
> > [...]
> >
> > But there are two shools -
> >
> > first - as You said
> > second - that natural numbers starts from 1...
> >
>
> I'm sorry, but this is neither a matter of opinion nor of
> popular vote. The standard model in Mathematics is known
> as "Peano's Postulates" or "Peano's Axioms", after Giuseppe
> Peano (1858-1932), the brilliant Italian mathematician and
> logician (...)
I think You have gone to far. ;)
It is not my opinion - natural numbers are with us from very past (fact is
that there was not number 1 in those numbers in greek mathematic). When You
say that natural numbers starts with 0 because one man (i agree - great) in
XX century made axioms about it - it sounds like "there was no world before
1796".
When is 0 or not in natural numbers, is matter of context.
regards
Aleksander K.
[alekk--obywatel--pl]