Date: Dec 3, 2001 10:38 PM
Author: Paul Lutus
Subject: Re: Is zero an approximation?



"The Scarlet Manuka" <sacha@maths.uwa.edu.au> wrote in message
news://a6934a10.0112031920.1314297a@posting.google.com...

> > A default
> > definition is, ipso facto, a single definition.
>
> Only if it is to be universally applied. I see no reason why
> a default may not have limited scope.

This begs the question of the meaning of "default definition," in a way
calculated to generate heat, not light.

> Let's restore some context. "Such a number system" refers to
> the specific phrase, "the number system that permits ordinary
> arithmetic operations". My claim is that there are many such
> number systems, and therefore one cannot speak of "the number
> system that permits ordinary arithmetic operations", as if
> there was only one, any more than one can speak of "the positive
> integer less than 10", because that does not specify a single
> integer.

No default. End of story.

--
Paul Lutus
www.arachnoid.com