Robert Dodier <robert.dodier at gmail.com> writes:
(snip)
> By default, Maxima doesn't assume sum is linear.
> Try declare(sum, linear).
Just out of interest, why isn't sum assumed to be linear? I presume
there's a good reason, but I can't think of any mathematical situation
where summing makes sense which isn't linear in this sense.
I thought of matrices and functions and so on, then thought about the
fact that anywhere you can "sum" and ask questions about linearity is
likely to have a module structure over some ring, in which case
linearity holds.
So, as I said, I'm sure there's a good reason and I'm being an idiot,
but could someone explain?
Rupert
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