(OT) Re: OpenGL scenegraph

[Bert Peers <rat@larian.com>]

Jan Ekholm wrote:

> :-) I found a short paper on quaternions, but it started off with saying
> that quaternions are an extension to complex numberss. Hmm, I've always
> disliked those phantasy-numbers, they seem to be totally useless.

Hehe, so are real numbers.  Some real numbers (ie the ones that are not
a fraction (*)) like pi or e can't ever be written down, neither as a fraction or as

a finite behind-the-comma sequence of digits.  In fact fractions aren't real
either, as any civil engineer knows "how much is 7/2 ?  answer 3.499999" ;)
meaning a fraction is an abstract as well because any m/n that does not result
in an integer can't be observed in reality - you never can perfectly divide a line
in 3 equal parts unless you're a god.  And then finally the same goes for
the natural numbers, they go on into infinity, which if you start to think about it
you can't get your head around to either, and they can be negative, which again
isn't real (unless for people doing research into antimatter perhaps :)
  Hm I guess "realness" is a poor measure for "making sense"ness of number sets.
It just depends to what point your brain is willing to go along with the
abstraction,
maybe.

Bert
pondering keyboards on a lazy monday afternoon

(*) Before anyone flames me, okay, "the ones that are not a solution of a
polynomial equation", ie transcendent. :)
--

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