Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

> quite a few properties (associativity, distributivity, symmetry) are suggested purely by the way we denote sums and multiplication.

I disagree. If “a + b + c” suggests “+” is associative, and “a × b × c” that “×” is associative, what about “a - b - c”, “a / b / c” and “a ^ b ^ c”?

Or are you suggesting Σaᵢ and Πaᵢ suggest associativity? If so, how?

(I also think you mean “commutativity”, not “symmetry” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commutative_property) symmetry typically is about relations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetric_relation)



Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: