Re: [boost] Generic Trees

From: Alex Besogonov (cyberax_at_[hidden])
Date: 2006-07-19 09:36:26

Paul Giaccone wrote:
> Really? No mathematician I have ever met (and I have met very many) 
> would do that. "Strictly positive" is tautologous. "Positive" is defined 
> as "greater than zero", so anyone who uses it differently is mistaken 
> and liable to be misunderstood. If someone means "x >= 0", then the term 
> for that is "non-negative".
There are two different definitions of natural numbers (see 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_numbers ) so sometimes one has to 
qualify what definition he uses: "natural numbers with zero" or "natural 
numbers without zero" :)

This can sometimes lead to confusion with the meaning of "positive", so 
terms like "strictly positive" and "non-negative" are used.

PS: I'm a mathematician by training.
-- 
With respect,
             Alex Besogonov (cyberax_at_[hidden])