Raymond Toy <toy@rtp.ericsson.se> writes:
> Yes, but then I'd have to ask why
>
> sqrt(-1) is %i and not (-1)^(1/2)
Then ask it; I think it's a good question.
My attempt at an answer would be that, by convention, i is often
considered to be *the* square root of -1. Since in some sense i is
the basic complex number (the others are written in terms of i),
it doesn't make any difference whether you choose i or -i for
sqrt(-1), as long as you're consistent.
But then I've put very little thought into it.
Jay