So, I still can’t really remember what I wanted to post yet, so we will skip around it till I do.

Anyway, not sure if you were all aware of this, but I found it interesting.

When you learn math, you are put under the impression that these are all the same:

4 x 5
4 · 5
4 * 5

But, that isn’t necessarily true. It turns out x and · are opposites of each other and include a trig function. We learned about them last week in physics because they are used for forces and torques. Apparently, they used to be taught in general algebra courses, but have been moved to very advanced courses (higher than I have ever taken) over the years. So, the actual values are…

4 x 5 = 4 * sin(θ) * 5
4 · 5 = 4 * cos(θ) * 5
4 * 5

so, for θ = 90°, your answers would be:

4 x 5 = 0
4 · 5 = 20
4 * 5 = 20

Weird, huh?

BTW, you have to use ugly ASCII codes to get ·, θ, and ° to show up. I hope you appreciate it.

nick