Division by zero,seems flawed

No, 0/0 is undefined as a mathematical term.
(Which is about the only place it can occur).
 
Yes, it is undefined but undefined could be one of possible answers or 0 can't represent 'nothing' in all cases (not talking about philosophy.) It's afterall only an abstraction.
 
Undefined is the answer.

0 can't represent 'nothing' in all cases (not talking about philosophy.) It's afterall only an abstraction
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Huh?
And it's an abstraction as much as "1" is.
 
Sure, yet 1 can represent something physical e.g. 1 dog and 0 can represent no dogs but what does x/0 represent where x is a variable or 0/0?
 
Big Chiller said:
Sure, yet 1 can represent something physical e.g. 1 dog and 0 can represent no dogs but what does x/0 represent where x is a variable or 0/0?
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Um, the "1" represents the quantity (non-physical) of dogs. The word "dog" represents the physical dog.

What does 3/2 represent?
 
Are you saying quantities cannot represent physical objects.

3/2 can represent one and a half of something.
 
Quantities do NOT represent physical objects.
They represent the number of physical objects.

3/2 represents NO physical object until you add a noun (and it's the noun which, as stated, actually represents the object itself).
3/2 fish.
3/2 dogs.
3/2 doughnuts.
What physical object is represented by the "3/2" in all of those sentences at the same time? None. Not a one.
 
Agreed, yet they can consistently be used with the nouns that represent something physical. How can x/0 or 0/0 be used consistently with a noun to represent something physical? Let there be 8 dogs, if I were to multiply 8 by 2 then i get 16 lets let there be 16 dogs if I multiply 0 by 8 I get 0 let there be no dogs.
 
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Big Chiller said:
Agreed, yet they can consistently be used with the nouns that represent something physical. How can x/0 or 0/0 be used consistently with a noun to represent something physical?
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There are many mathematical terms that can't be used with something physical, why should this be anything special?

Can I ask for 2i+3 gallons of petrol?
How about 0/1 lb of beef?
 
Dywyddyr said:
There are many mathematical terms that can't be used with something physical, why should this be anything special?

Can I ask for 2i+3 gallons of petrol?
How about 0/1 lb of beef?
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i is a variable why shouldn't I be able to 'use' it, and 0/1=0 so 0lb of beef.
 
i is not a variable.
It's the square root of -1.

And where, exactly, would you ask for 0lb of beef?
 
Yet you wouldn't use the term 0/1 lb of beef.
Neither would you ask for 0 lb of beef.
 
I can imagine green unicorns with elephant ears and a shotgun.
Does that make them "usable" at all?
 
By 'usable' I mean it's conceivable. i is clear in that it doesn't beg any question from one but 0/0 "makes" one ask questions about 'nothing'.
 
I still don't quite the "problem".
Unless it's just that you have some desire for it to "make sense" in a "real" fashion.

Shit happens.
If infinity is the biggest "possible number" you can have how is it possible (or even conceivable) to have something larger than infinity?
Yet we do and it's a solid part of mathematics...
 
Dywyddyr said:
I still don't quite the "problem".
Unless it's just that you have some desire for it to "make sense" in a "real" fashion.
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It's more I am curious whether the mathematical statements can be realized to be physically 'usable' hypothetically. I would like to know it either can be realized or cannot be realized or 'other'.

Dywyddyr said:
Shit happens.
If infinity is the biggest "possible number" you can have how is it possible (or even conceivable) to have something larger than infinity?
Yet we do and it's a solid part of mathematics...
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The "biggest possible number" is in question can it be realized hypothetically whether there is a "biggest possible number", it seems more that one can always add 1 to a number no matter how big it is hypothetically.
 
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