12 May '05 13:48>
Originally posted by Duck Duck GooseMath is a language just like English or Sign Language. It's just a way to describe things that we can experience, except that Math goes a little further.
how many times does 3 go into -3?
some of you might say it goes in to it -1 times, but how can you go into something -1 times? you either go into it (1+) or not (0)
The question was how many times 'does' 3 go into -3? That is a math question that tells you it has already happened. The answer is negative 1. The other part of the question is "How many times 'can' 3 go into -3?" That is an English question and the answer is 'it can't', not in our perceived world.