Open AccessDivision by Zero
Author(s) -
Jan A. Bergstra
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
transmathematica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2632-9212
DOI - 10.36285/tm.v0i0.17
Subject(s) - division (mathematics) , zero (linguistics) , argument (complex analysis) , outcome (game theory) , mathematics , mathematical economics , computer science , calculus (dental) , epistemology , arithmetic , philosophy , linguistics , medicine , dentistry
The idea that, as opposed to the conventional viewpoint, division by zero may produce a meaningful result, is long standing and has attracted interest from many sides. We provide a survey of some options for the defining an outcome for the application of division in case the second argument equals zero. The survey is limited by a combination of simplifying assumptions which are grouped together in the idea of a premeadow, which generalises the notion of a transfield.