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From: asente@decwrl.UUCP (Paul Asente)
Newsgroups: net.math
Subject: Re: -1 = 1
Message-ID: <3117@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 10-Sep-83 17:10:42 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.3117
Posted: Sat Sep 10 17:10:42 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 10-Sep-83 20:21:46 EDT
References: <734@bronze.UUCP>
Organization: DEC Western Research Lab, Los Altos, CA
Lines: 12

It's really quite straightforward:  sqrt is a multiple valued relation
in mathematics, although you don't usually think of it that way:

sqrt(4) = {+2, -2}	(I really mean a set here!)

Transitivity does not hold in this situation, any more than it does in
the situation

"John is a boy; Tom is a boy; therefore John is Tom."

	-paul asente