MR JOHN P BURKE wrote:
>
> -- [ From: John P. Burke * EMC.Ver #2.10P ] --
>
> Larry Boyd said:
>
> >OK, Kumar, its great and wonderful that you solved the problem so
> >quickly ;). However, for those of us who still can't remember the
> >steps, what are they? ...
>
> What a treat! A question I can answer (having spent the first 28 years
> of my life discovering that I was not the next John Von Neuman) that
> has not already been answered (the hazard of getting this list in
> digest form the day after - unlike those who seem to get and respond in
> real time). So before I get the digest for Saturday and discover
> someone else has already supplied the proof:
>
> The quadratic equation ax^2+bx+c=0 where a<>0 is a special case of the
> general second degree polynomial y=f(x)=ax^2+bx+c, which geometrically
> describes a parabola. In particular, if f(x), when graphed, touches or
> intersects the x-axis, then f(x)=0 has a solution(s) which is simply
> the value of x at the point of contact with the x-axis
 
[more similar stuff snipped]
 
Well, Larry........you did ask!   :-)
 
Martin.
 
-Speaking for myself, not my company.