Tag Archives: dual numbers

Dual Numbers and Why 0!=1

Recently, I learned an interesting new math trick involving what are known as dual numbers. These are compound numbers similar in form to complex numbers but with a different kind of “magic” element enabling their behavior.

What makes them interesting to people like me is the surprising way they provide a fast and easy technique for software to generate the derivative of a given function.

As an unrelated bonus, a simple explanation of why zero-factorial is equal to one rather than zero (which might seem more intuitive).

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