• If I write f^{-1}(x), without context, you have literally no way of knowing whether I am talking about a multiplicative or a functional inverse, which means that it is ambiguous

    The inverse of the function is f(x)^-1. i.e. the negative exponent applies to the whole function, not just the x (since f(x) is a single term).

    • @[email protected]
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      6 months ago

      You can define your notation that way if youlike to, doesn’t change the fact that commonly f^{-1}(x) is and has been used that way forever.

      If I read this somewhere, without knowing the conventions the author uses, it’s ambiguous

      • You can define your notation that way if you like

        Nothing to do with me - it’s in Maths textbooks.

        without knowing the conventions the author uses, it’s ambiguous

        Well they should all be following the rules of Maths, without needing to have that stated.

            • @[email protected]
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              6 months ago

              Yeah, doesn’t mean that you know what an author is talking about when you encounter it doing actual math

              The notation is not intrinsically clear, as any human writing. Ambiguous, one may say.

                • @[email protected]
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                  16 months ago

                  We’ve been at this point, I’m not going to explain this again. But you weren’t able to read a single sentence of a wikipedia article without me handfeeding it to you, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m sorry for your students.

                  • a single sentence of a wikipedia article without me handfeeding it to you

                    And I told you why it was wrong, which is why I read Maths textbooks and not wikipedia.

                    I’m sorry for your students

                    My students are doing good thanks