Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utcsrgv.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcsrgv!elf From: elf@utcsrgv.UUCP (Eugene Fiume) Newsgroups: net.graphics Subject: Numbering from zero Message-ID: <1882@utcsrgv.UUCP> Date: Wed, 3-Aug-83 11:26:18 EDT Article-I.D.: utcsrgv.1882 Posted: Wed Aug 3 11:26:18 1983 Date-Received: Wed, 3-Aug-83 12:01:17 EDT Organization: CSRG, University of Toronto Lines: 17 Ahhh, gimme a break you positive number bigots. Numbering from zero makes perfect, and dare I say it, natural sense. The first natural number happens to be zero, which will sound confusing only to those who mix up ordinal and cardinal numbers. I personally believe there has been a combination redneck/pinko conspiracy against this most beautiful of cardinal numbers. "Off by ones" are not a function of the number system (any more than say, the recent stupid and nearly disastrous metric/imperial mixup in filling up a jet liner is the fault of the metric system). On the other hand, if everyone were converted to using the natural numbers instead of the positives, then "off by ones" would be replaced by "off by zeros", which as everyone knows, wouldn't be a problem. nyuck nyuck Eugene Fiume utcsrgv!elf U of Toronto