Re^5: OSCON Perl Unicode Slides

In Germany, division is written as 22 : 7

Are you sure?

In England, ratios are often also denoted using ':'. Eg. 4:3, 16:9 (screen ratios); 3:1, 2:1 on (betting odds etc.) But these are all whole number ratios. You would never see 1 : 3.141592653. That would always be 1/3.141592653.

I don't know much about German mathematics (apart from they've historically led the world at it), but in the few months I worked there, I never saw division written or typed as x:y, always x/y, unless it was a whole number ratio. Is my memory flawed? Or were my co-workers and correspondence simply accommodating the quaint Englishman?

Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.

"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".

In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

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Re^6: OSCON Perl Unicode Slides by Corion (Patriarch) on Jul 25, 2011 at 20:25 UTC
In my German school education, I was taught `:` as the division operator. It's also used to indicate ratios (unsurprisingly). I mostly use the form of fractions, as it's far more convenient to me and in most cases I have a two-dimensional display+input area ("paper") to write on.	[reply] [d/l]
Re^7: OSCON Perl Unicode Slides by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jul 25, 2011 at 20:40 UTC
Hm. I'm not sure that you answered my question. In infant school we were taught the 'minus sign with two dots' thing as division -- I haven't entered the actual sign because i have no idea how to enter it; I copied it from my correspondent's post when replying above. But as I said, in my time in Germany, I never recall seeing division writing or typed as anything other than x/y. Am I wrong? Further, can you or anyone reference a single published, cited mathematical thesis that uses the '-:-' thing rather than '/'? Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error. "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.	[reply]
Re^8: OSCON Perl Unicode Slides by Corion (Patriarch) on Jul 25, 2011 at 20:52 UTC
I'm not aware of any use of `-:-`. Even though it's not "citeable", the easy way out is to look at the German page of Wikipedia on "Division", which shows the ":" notation. It also shows the `-:-` notation as an alternative and attributes both to Leibnitz.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^9: OSCON Perl Unicode Slides by Boldra (Curate) on Jul 26, 2011 at 07:01 UTC
Re^9: OSCON Perl Unicode Slides by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jul 25, 2011 at 21:21 UTC
Re^10: OSCON Perl Unicode Slides by jdporter (Paladin) on Jul 26, 2011 at 02:50 UTC
Some notes below your chosen depth have not been shown here
Re^6: OSCON Perl Unicode Slides by AnomalousMonk (Archbishop) on Jul 25, 2011 at 21:36 UTC
In England, ratios are often also denoted using ':' ... But these are all whole number ratios. You would never see 1 : 3.141592653. A bit OT, but further to the point, implicit to most of these discussions, that if it can be done some way, someone does it that way... At least in the States, film review magazines commonly refer to screen ratios as '1.33:1' (i.e., 4:3 television or pre-Academy-standard film), '1.37:1' (standard 'Academy' ratio), '1.85:1' (standard (?) theatrical ratio), '2.35:1' (theatrical wide-screen), '1.66:1', '1.78:1', etc., etc.	[reply]