Could you tell me if you understand and/or remember those definitions (where a and b denoting arbitrary sets):
(a INTERSECTION b) = {x SUCH-THAT (x BELONGS-TO a) and (x BELONGS-TO b)}
(a UNION b) = {x SUCH THAT (x BELONGS-TO a) or (x BELONGS-TO b)}
Can you compute
{1, 2, 7, 789} UNION {1, 2, 7, 5678} = ? 1,2,7,789, 5678
{1, 2, 7, 789} INTERSECTION {1, 2, 7, 5678} = ? 1, 2, 7, 789
Do you remember the empty set? Can you compute:
{1, 2} UNION { } = ? 1,2
{1} UNION { } = ? { }
{1, 2, 3} UNION {1, 2, 3} = ? 1,2,3
{ } UNION { } = ? { }
{1, 2} INTERSECTION { } = ? { }
{1} INTERSECTION { } = ? { }
{1, 2, 3} INTERSECTION {1, 2, 3} = ? 1, 2 3
{ } INTERSECTION { } = ? { }
Now, an important distinction which will follow us through ... forever. I suggest you read attentively the next two paragraphs two times before breakfast, every day for one week. :), Really take all your time. It concerns the notion of operation, and relation.
INTERSECTION and UNION, are operations on sets, like addition (+, or PLUS) and multiplication (*, or TIMES) are operation on numbers. This means, typically, that, if x and y denote numbers, then x + y, and x * y, will denote, or are equal to, numbers. For example 03 + 04 is equal to 7.
Similarly, if x and y denotes, or are equal, to sets, then x INTERSECTION y denotes, or is equal to, some set. For example {1,2} INTERSECTION {2, 7} is equal to some set, actually the set {2}. OK?
Operations are important, as you can guess, but relations are as well important. Operations lead to new elements, new objects. From the numbers 2 and 3, you get the element 5. Relations pertains or does not pertain, or equivalently, leads to true or false.
Example. The relation LESS-THAN, among the numbers. (x LESS-THAN y) is true if x is less than y. So (3 LESS-THAN 56) is true, and (56 LESS-THAN 3) is false. An important relation pertaining on sets is the relation of inclusion, or of being a subset of a set.
By definition a set x will be said included in y (or be said subset of y), when all the elements of x are among the elements of y. We will write (x INCLUDED-IN y) when the set x is included in the set y.
For example, the set {1, 2} is included in the set {3, 2, 1}, but is not included in the set {3, 1}.
Exercise: in the following, what is true or false?
45 LESS-THAN 67 true
00 LESS-THAN 01 true
999 LESS-THAN 4 false
{1, 2, 3} INCLUDED-IN {4, 1, 5, 2, 3, 8} true
{1} INCLUDED-IN {1, 2} true
oops, I must go. You are lucky ;)
Bruno
http://iridia.ulb.ac.be/~marchal/
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group.
To post to this group, send email to everything-list.domain.name.hidden
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to everything-list+unsubscribe.domain.name.hidden
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
Received on Thu Jul 02 2009 - 12:42:49 PDT