← Back to context Comment by zeckalpha 21 hours ago i came from imaginary numbers which were extended to make quaternions. 3 comments zeckalpha Reply jibal 20 hours ago i, j, k comes from FORTRAN's implicit types -- by default, names starting with I-N are integers and all other names are real. jcelerier 20 hours ago this is much older ; Joseph Fourier was already using "i" and "j" for indices in the 1800s. See page 209: https://www.google.ca/books/edition/OEuvres_de_Fourier_Th%C3... jibal 19 hours ago The context is i, j, k as indices in programs. No doubt FORTRAN was influenced by prior use such as you cite. But in no case does i used as an index come from i designating an imaginary number, which is what I aimed to refute.
jibal 20 hours ago i, j, k comes from FORTRAN's implicit types -- by default, names starting with I-N are integers and all other names are real. jcelerier 20 hours ago this is much older ; Joseph Fourier was already using "i" and "j" for indices in the 1800s. See page 209: https://www.google.ca/books/edition/OEuvres_de_Fourier_Th%C3... jibal 19 hours ago The context is i, j, k as indices in programs. No doubt FORTRAN was influenced by prior use such as you cite. But in no case does i used as an index come from i designating an imaginary number, which is what I aimed to refute.
jcelerier 20 hours ago this is much older ; Joseph Fourier was already using "i" and "j" for indices in the 1800s. See page 209: https://www.google.ca/books/edition/OEuvres_de_Fourier_Th%C3... jibal 19 hours ago The context is i, j, k as indices in programs. No doubt FORTRAN was influenced by prior use such as you cite. But in no case does i used as an index come from i designating an imaginary number, which is what I aimed to refute.
jibal 19 hours ago The context is i, j, k as indices in programs. No doubt FORTRAN was influenced by prior use such as you cite. But in no case does i used as an index come from i designating an imaginary number, which is what I aimed to refute.
i, j, k comes from FORTRAN's implicit types -- by default, names starting with I-N are integers and all other names are real.
this is much older ; Joseph Fourier was already using "i" and "j" for indices in the 1800s. See page 209: https://www.google.ca/books/edition/OEuvres_de_Fourier_Th%C3...
The context is i, j, k as indices in programs. No doubt FORTRAN was influenced by prior use such as you cite. But in no case does i used as an index come from i designating an imaginary number, which is what I aimed to refute.