From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Msuck: nntp://news.gmane.io/gmane.science.mathematics.categories/2711 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Oswald Wyler Newsgroups: gmane.science.mathematics.categories Subject: \phi for the golden ratio? Date: Sat, 29 May 2004 19:08:24 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1241018845 5438 80.91.229.2 (29 Apr 2009 15:27:25 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:27:25 +0000 (UTC) To: categories@mta.ca Original-X-From: rrosebru@mta.ca Sun May 30 19:38:37 2004 -0300 Return-path: Envelope-to: categories-list@mta.ca Delivery-date: Sun, 30 May 2004 19:38:37 -0300 Original-Received: from Majordom by mailserv.mta.ca with local (Exim 4.10) id 1BUYtn-0007mt-00 for categories-list@mta.ca; Sun, 30 May 2004 19:35:23 -0300 Original-Sender: cat-dist@mta.ca Precedence: bulk X-Keywords: X-UID: 33 Original-Lines: 11 Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.science.mathematics.categories:2711 Archived-At: In seventh or eighth grade -- a long time ago -- , I learned the name "goldener Schnitt" (golden ratio, ratio aurea) for the positive solution of the equation x^2 = x + 1. Recently, I read an article, I forgot where, discussing this number and using \phi as the "accepted symbol" for it. The old name was never mentioned. So far, I have only met three real or complex numbers with universally accepted one-letter symbols: \pi, e, i. Have I missed something? Oswald Wyler