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Student Problem

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg63768] Student Problem
  • From: "Dr A.H. Harker" <a.harker at ucl.ac.uk>
  • Date: Sat, 14 Jan 2006 02:32:10 -0500 (EST)
  • Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

Dear All,

         I've often thought that one of the sneakiest things that
Mathematica does to a beginner is the way it punishes him or her for
mistyping the boundary conditions for DSolve, for example {...y'[0]=1,...}.
One can come up with reasonable explanations for the fact that this mistaken
assignment is associated with Derivative rather than y, and one used to be
able to demonstrate this by typing ??Derivative before mopping up the mess
with Clear[Derivative]. In Mathematica 5.1 ??Derivative does not show
the associated y'[0]=1, making the use of Clear[Derivative] look like
a strange folk remedy to the beginner. Any comments?

 Tony Harker 
 Department of Physics and Astronomy
 University College London
 Gower Street
 LONDON
 WC1E  6BT
 (44)(0)207 679 3404
 a.harker at ucl.ac.uk




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