At 03:35 PM 2/14/99 -0500, John Clark wrote:
>Ian Goddard:
>
> > "No answer" means the answer is the same as zero.
>
>The solution of the equation 1/0 = X is not zero, the problem has
>no solution.
IAN: My calculator says it has a solution called "error." Are you saying that the answer = error? :)
But of course 1/0 is generally considered to be infinity, yet, like answers for 0/0, it runs into problems that render it undefined or indeterminate. So I think rather than it having "no solution" it is more exactly stated that divide by zero does have solutions, but they lead to contradictions, and thus all /0 solutions are defined as errors.
So, does the "no" in "There is no answer" mean "error" or "nothing" as in "void"? I see it to mean that the answer is void, it doesn't exist.