Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/Euclidean algorithm/archive1: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:58, 8 May 2009

Revision as of 03:18, 9 May 2009

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**:It means "equivalent to" in [[modular arithmetic]]. I'll make a link. [[User:Proteins|Proteins]] ([[User talk:Proteins|talk]]) 16:58, 5 May 2009 (UTC)

**I don't think the ''implementations'' section belongs in this article. [[WP:NOT|Wikipedia is not]] a how-to guide, and this section does not contain any new relevant information.

**::Your initial reaction is similar to mine. Bu let me argue that the implementations contribute at least epsilon to the article for most readers, and for some readers may convey the algorithm's idea better than anything else. I note that [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Euclidean_algorithm&oldid=276556143 when I arrived] at this article — then rated at nearly GA level by the Math WikiProject — the implementations were the article's main content, having been debated and perfected for over [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Euclidean_algorithm&oldid=250714 seven years]. Some editors champion the pseudocode as the only valid way of defining the algorithm precisely. In deference to these editors and in deference to the many readers like them, I feel we should retain the Implementations section. [[User:Proteins|Proteins]] ([[User talk:Proteins|talk]]) 03:18, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

**"if the resulting negative remainder is smaller in absolute value than the typical positive remainder" You used "magnitude" earlier. I recommend swapping out "absolute value" for "magnitude" for consistency.

**::OK, sounds good. [[User:Proteins|Proteins]] ([[User talk:Proteins|talk]]) 03:18, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

**"to the greatest length g that measures a and b evenly" The word "measures" seems a bit off. Shouldn't it be "divides"?

**::A geometric length is qualitatively different than an integer. "Measure" or "measure off" is the standard vocabulary used for the former. The ancient Greeks distinguished the two operations (division and "measuring off"), and their concepts have carried over. [[User:Proteins|Proteins]] ([[User talk:Proteins|talk]]) 03:18, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

**"in other words, the lengths a and b are both multiples of the length g" I suggest the injection of the word "integer" before "multiples", without it, the whole concept is meaningless.

**::Great catch, although I predict that most non-mathematicians would assume that "multiple = integer multiple". [[User:Proteins|Proteins]] ([[User talk:Proteins|talk]]) 03:18, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

**"The algorithm was likely known by Eudoxus of Cnidus (about 375 BC). The use of the technical term ἀνθυφαίρεσις (anthyphairesis, reciprocal subtraction) in Euclid and Aristotle (Topics IV) suggests that the algorithm predates Eudoxus." I see what you're getting at, but to some readers, these sentences may seem to contradict each other. Suggested rewrite: "The use of the technical term ἀνθυφαίρεσις (anthyphairesis, reciprocal subtraction) in Euclid and Aristotle (Topics IV) suggests that what we now know as the Euclidean Algorithm may have predated [[Eudoxus of Cnidus]], a Greek mathematician who died in approximately 350 BC." or some such. Meh. That's not exactly perfect either. Give it some thought.

**"Euclid's algorithm was re-invented both in India and in China" "re-invent" often implies that an existing concept was significantly improved. I think "independently developed" or "independently discovered" might serve better.