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rsl12 · 10-14-2005, 09:12 AM

I guess it's my turn to say I know what you're saying, but...

If you have a quadratic equation with only a 1st order term (i.e., y=mx+b), you would never consider the 'm' and the 'b' to be opposites of each other. X and Y maybe, depending on the circumstance, but not m and b. Similarly, if you were to divide 3 dimensional space into 8 congruent slices of pie, pie piece #1 would not have, as its opposites all other 7 pieces--it would just be the piece katty korner that could be considered the opposite. Having a group of many parameters is different from having a group of parameters that are all orthogonal or opposite to each other.

I do agree, however, that there are plenty of things in the universe that don't have any opposites, and that, in those situations, people sometimes apply a categorization scheme just to make things easier to understand. And while categorization is often easier when you just have two bins into which you're sorting, I don't think the number 2 is in any way fundamental to human nature. It's more like, if you only need one bin, why go through the trouble of trying to use two? If you only need two bins, why go through the trouble of trying to use three?

10-14-2005, 09:12 AM	#35 (permalink)
rsl12 On the lam Location: northern va	I guess it's my turn to say I know what you're saying, but... If you have a quadratic equation with only a 1st order term (i.e., y=mx+b), you would never consider the 'm' and the 'b' to be opposites of each other. X and Y maybe, depending on the circumstance, but not m and b. Similarly, if you were to divide 3 dimensional space into 8 congruent slices of pie, pie piece #1 would not have, as its opposites all other 7 pieces--it would just be the piece katty korner that could be considered the opposite. Having a group of many parameters is different from having a group of parameters that are all orthogonal or opposite to each other. I do agree, however, that there are plenty of things in the universe that don't have any opposites, and that, in those situations, people sometimes apply a categorization scheme just to make things easier to understand. And while categorization is often easier when you just have two bins into which you're sorting, I don't think the number 2 is in any way fundamental to human nature. It's more like, if you only need one bin, why go through the trouble of trying to use two? If you only need two bins, why go through the trouble of trying to use three? __________________ oh baby oh baby, i like gravy. Last edited by rsl12; 10-14-2005 at 09:14 AM..