roots of cubics

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

You are deluded. I made no outburst whatsoever.

I respectfully disagree. You posted twice in this thread putting words in all caps. That's equivalent to shouting.

And it seems to me, you failed to ask yourself whether the poster could have made a simple mistake, and tried "autocorrecting" to see if the question then became sensible. And if it did, then framed a response based on the correction, with something like "Did you mean" or "I assume you meant." That would have been polite.

In repeatedly insisting on "justifying" your intemperate response, you have not done yourself any favors. For instance, using the fact that a simple typing error has been repeated, to justify the claim that it indicates a failure of understanding, is rubbish. Repeating a mistake of this sort is not unusual. The mind can keep thinking one thing, while the hand keeps typing another. It's happened to me many times. When I finally realize the mistake, it increases my appreciation of "Find and replace."

My diagnosis is "bad default settings." Yours seems to be, "If there's any way I can say `You're wrong!' or `You don't even know the most basic...' then, by God, I'm gonna shout it from the mountaintops!"

You might try editing your configuration file to allow for the possibility of simple misstatements in posts to this forum, before firing up the flamethrower.

[R.D. Silverman]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

I respectfully disagree. You posted twice in this thread putting words in all caps. That's equivalent to shouting.


And it seems to me, you failed to ask yourself whether the poster could have made a simple mistake, and tried "autocorrecting" to see if the question then became sensible.

The issue here is not whether the poster made a mistake. The issue is whether
the mistake was a mathematical mistake or a writing mistake. It had to be one or
the other. I took the position that it was the former.

People often say "I can't do math correctly". They rarely say "I can't write or speak English correctly".
I think the former is much more likely than the latter. Others here disagree.

[mathwiz]

Originally Posted by R.D. Silverman

The issue here is not whether the poster made a mistake. The issue is whether
the mistake was a mathematical mistake or a writing mistake.

The real issue seems to be whether you can correct people politely and calmly, rather than screaming at and insulting them.

[R.D. Silverman]

Originally Posted by mathwiz

The real issue seems to be whether you can correct people politely and calmly, rather than screaming at and insulting them.

I insulted no one. I screamed at no one.

[axn]

I think this thread has run its course. If more needs to be said about people's conduct, please take it to appropriate venue.

Thread closed.

If anyone needs to reopen it for legitimate discussion, please PM me.