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From: ags@seaman.cc.purdue.edu (Dave Seaman)
Newsgroups: sci.math,comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Re: The use of calculators in teaching calculus
Keywords: Calculators, calculus
Message-ID: <2299@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
Date: 5 Dec 90 14:38:17 GMT
References: <4608@umbc3.UMBC.EDU> <1990Dec4.153552.29699@javelin.es.com> <1990Dec5.030314.26463@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca>
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In article <1990Dec5.030314.26463@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca> mroussel@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Marc Roussel) writes:
>     Let's take another example.  Some (primary) educators have
>suggested that long division should be removed from the curriculum.
>However long division is the basis of polynomial division, and if you'd
>never done polynomial division, I don't think you'd ever be able to
>write a polynomial deflation routine (for instance).

People manage to write eigenvalue/eigenvector routines and Gram-Schmidt
orthogonalization routines and the like, even though these operations have no
analog in elementary arithmetic.  There is nothing particularly difficult about
polynomial deflation, even if you have never seen long division in your life.
In fact, polynomial deflation is easier than long division, because you never
have to guess at a divisor and then go back and revise.

--
Dave Seaman	  					
ags@seaman.cc.purdue.edu