Talk:Plus and minus signs

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Perhaps there should be an ambiguity page set for 'plus'. This page references the PLUS ATM network, but there is also the PLUS! micorsoft productivity pack, and PLUS government funded student loans.

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[edit] (1+1 is 0) not binary

I wouldn't call the first (1+1=0) binary. "Binary" is a way to write symbols for the natural numbers \Bbb{N}. There, 1+1=2. Writing it binary as 1 + 1 = 102 doesn't change the result, it's just two different symbols representing the same number. In contrast, \Bbb{F}_2 is a different thing. You can imagine 1\in\Bbb{F}_2 as a 180 degree rotation. 1+1 would than mean rotating by 360 degrees. The result is the same as if the rotation didn't take place: That's 0\in\Bbb{F}_2, and therefore 1+1=0, without any tricks like ignoring the overflow bit of an adder circuit. -- JeLuF 21:29 13 Jun 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Chinese joke

A Chinese joke: What is "1+1"? Answer: 王 (wang).

Eh? I don't get this. Is it just that the character can be made from the characters "1", "+", and "1" combined? If so, I don't see why it's funny... If this is a well-known joke among Chinese people, this fact needs to be explained in the article, and the joke itself should be explained. Otherwise, it should be removed. -- Oliver P. 22:44, 21 Aug 2003 (UTC)

I asked Wshun to explain the joke :-) Fantasy 08:14, 22 Aug 2003 (UTC)
It is a childish nonsense joke. If you answer 2, the correct answer is then 王; if you answer 王, the correct answer is then 2. So you could never be right :P BTW, I am surprised the joke can stay so long!!! Yes, it should be removed. --wshun 21:32, 22 Aug 2003 (UTC)
OK, maybe I have a too high esteem of Chinese wisdom, So that I think, there must be a sense, even if there is none... Sad, I was hoping for some humor in Wikipedia ;-) Fantasy 21:41, 22 Aug 2003 (UTC)
I kind of liked the joke. It is a harmless one, and somewhat opens up a window on Chinese culture/characters. Why not replacing it in the article with some explanation? After all, there are tons of articles about minor games in the 'pedia. olivier 11:18, 8 Sep 2003 (UTC)
Well, it's not exactly a joke but is more similar to a riddle or quiz from which a kid learns Chinese characters. Another example, what is 1 minus 1? Answer is 三 (literary meaning: three). kt² 01:02, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC)
Maybe we can have an article explaining these riddles of children. kt² 01:05, 23 Nov 2003 (UTC)

[edit] Plus and minus signs

There was something that approached a consensus for deletion; not quite, but one never knows what some over-eager admin will do as the deadline approaches. The closest thing to a consensus was to do something about reorganizing, renaming, whatever; so I up and did it. A better history of these notations is called for. Dandrake 00:54, Feb 28, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] VfD

  • One plus one not encyclopedic Anthony DiPierro 23:40, 21 Feb 2004 (UTC)
    • Keep, but maybe retitle, move, or merge with something else. Does have some interesting info. -- J. Antley 17:48, 21 Feb 2004 (CST)
    • Keep; agree with DarkFantasy. The contents are worthy of the encyclopedia, but wouldn't suffer if integrated somewhere. Dandrake 00:16, Feb 22, 2004 (UTC) See below.
    • Keep. It's a phrase that everyone use with a long and proud history. BL 10:43, Feb 22, 2004 (UTC)
    • Delete; this is inappropriately titled. Move/merge content to some article dealing with addition or uses of the plus sign. Psychonaut 14:05, 22 Feb 2004 (UTC)
      • Not addition; the entry shows clearly that this expression is not necessarily addition in any normal sense. And plus sign is a bit of a red herring: it's nothing but a redirect to addition—which reduces the problem to the previous case. Dandrake 04:56, Feb 23, 2004 (UTC)
    • Delete. Pointless here. Everyking 20:42, 22 Feb 2004 (UTC)
    • Delete. We will have n-squared combinations otherwise. I agree with suggestion for the info going into the pages for one and plus. And binary etc. No need for the collection of the info in one place. Paul Beardsell 10:46, 23 Feb 2004 (UTC)
    • Delete - Texture 00:07, 24 Feb 2004 (UTC)
    • Bowing to the near-consensus, I've moved it to Plus and minus signs, which is more general than plus sign and suggests possible expansion to a collection of data on other familiar notations. The article needs a lot of work, which I'm beginning now. Dandrake 00:39, Feb 28, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia

I'd just like everyone to know that the technical name for a plus sign is a quadrapoint. -Bannus 11:09, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

That tidbit shows up on a few blogs, but it appears to be a hoax. I've removed it from the article. Melchoir 23:16, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A question on terminology

I am a native Dane, but teach math in English at highschool level. I have a problem with terminology.

In Danish, "-5" and "-x" are read aloud as "minus fem" and "minus x", not "negativ fem" and "negativ x". How's that in English?

Many students would read "-5" as "negative 5", but that's nonsense to me as 5 is not negative. I.e., I understand "negative as a property, and 5 does not have that property. Am I right?

Also, many students would read "-x" as "negative x", but again, I'd understand that as "a negaitve x" (i.e. x<0), and that's of course something else. Am I right? Or am I at least right to the extent that "negative x" would be ambiguous?

I post this question at Talk:Negative and non-negative numbers#A question on terminology too; please answer it there.--Niels Ø 14:06, 2 December 2006 (UTC)

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