[Gllug] Light the blue touchpaper...

[Chris Bell]

On Wed 17 Mar, Pete Ryland wrote:
> 

> 
> Calculating tan x with pencil and paper, I would argue, certainly doesn't
> help you understand any principles behind it.  It may give you RSI and help
> you remember your times tables and better your attention to detail, but the
> way you'd calculate it is different from its application.
> 
   Calculating tan x on paper is not very easy without knowing what you are
doing. I was taught using a combination of graphical/geometrical methods,
calculus, complex numbers, and all depending on my current understanding of
the theory behind the different methods at the time. Teaching and
understanding the trig functions using geometrical methods does not rely on
understanding complex numbers, but complex number theory can help understand
and calculate both trig and hyperbolic functions quickly and easily once
complex numbers are understood.


-- 
Chris Bell

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