Question Arman Kobzhasarov in lesson «IF conditions and programs that make decisions», course «Programming fundamentals»

Arman Kobzhasarov

Hey Rakhim. Your english lessons are awesome. Keep it up! I'd like to point to one thing: when you say the word like "-number" it is correct to say "negative number" instead of "minus number", isn't it?)

Rakhim D.

Hey Arman, thank you!

Both are correct and acceptable. Actually, some mathematicians think "minus" should be used instead of "negative". All of the math and CS teachers I know prefer "minus". The situation is different in US high schools, though, where "negative" is preferred. This term was introduced in the 60s in New Math.

Few references:

I. I Want to Be a Mathematician: An Automathography by Paul R. Halmos:

At the same time, by the way, I'd take advantage of the occasion and tell my students that the exponential that 2 is the logarithm of is not 102 but e2; that's how mathematicians use the language. The use of ln is a textbook vulgarization. Did you ever hear a mathematician speak of the Riemann surface of lnz? And speaking of vulgarizations, did you ever hear a mathematician pronounce "−3−3" as "negative three"?

II. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-keith-devlin/how-do-you-read-3_b_1338163.html

III. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.usage.english/c6D4vl6fxmo

IV. https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_number

Thanks!

Use Hexlet to the fullest extent!

  • Ask questions about the lesson
  • Test your knowledge in quizzes
  • Practice in your browser
  • Track your progress

Sign up or sign in

By sending this form, you agree to our Personal Policy and Service Conditions
Suggested learning programs
profession
Development of front-end components for web applications
10 months
from scratch
Start at any time
profession
Layout with the latest CSS standards
5 months
from scratch
under development
Start at any time
profession
new
Developing web applications with Django
10 months
from scratch
under development
Start at any time