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Forum URL: http://www.cut-the-knot.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/forumctk.cgi
Forum Name: Thoughts and Suggestions
Topic ID: 5
Message ID: 1
#1, RE: Error in the comparing imaginary numbers page
Posted by alexb on Feb-23-07 at 11:00 AM
In response to message #0
No, there is no error.

With the reals you expect

(1) a < b and 0 < c imply ac < bc.

With the complex numbers, either assumption

0 < i or 0 < -i

leads to a contradiction if (1) is assumed to work in the complex case as well. Because, as you point out, i = -1. Which leads to a change of direction in the inequality. The trouble is this direction change is not implied by (1).