Is General Poly?

Multi is Good except when It's a Verse

Norman Wildberger is at it still, zealously promoting the Rational mathematics like a real clergy of a false religion.¹ But I love the guy. He’s cool.

I’ve wondered where he will be taking his PolyNumber framework. Since to most professional eyes, I bet, it is just inventing new notation. The paydirt is when you can get new (or old) theorem proofs or inspirations. I say “old” as well since there’s nothing as good short of a new theorem than improving the proof of an old one.

But is the PolyNumber the better thing to be teaching? Is it Sir General Sir?

I say, “not really.”

I was provoked to comment on Norm’s video when he mentioned his notation subsuming the factorials in the denominators making them implicit,

@27:00 “… right across the board, no exception.” That’s mathematical music to my ears. :)

I then wrote: Hey, Norman, this is cool and all, but the better generalization of harmonic analysis is to meromorphic analysis, which go in any space dimension and any signature and any grade (gotta have the trifecta).

Use the Clifford (geometric) algebra. The generalization of “number” and “vector” is the multivector, the general form of which has all grades from 0 to the space dimension, which is basically the one true geometric+algebra religion for analysis. 🤣(Could not resists triggering you atheists.) ((Besides, the uni-math dorks are always denigrating us Clifford algebra enthusiasts as cultists, so why the heck not shout back a bit?)) As per your whole life’s work, I don’t see a problem restricting Geometric Algebra to the rationals, if that’s what you really want. You soulless computerheads.

For any one following I have a lot of breezy writing on Geometric Algebra over on T4GU if you are interested in simple and elegant mathematical physics. Free of ballsing things up with fibre bundle soup, tensor slop and matrix crud.

Note to self. Learn some Russian, if for nothing else to extend the scope of jokes and laughter, Lord knows I have the need.

1. Mathematicians come in two varieties: those who think Abraham Robinson revolutionized analysis and expanded the horizons of human thought, and those who are clergy.