What is the difference between a zero operator, zero function, zero scalar, and zero vector?












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I'm pretty sure that a zero vector is just a vector of length zero with direction, zero scalar is just the number zero, and that a zero function is any function that maps to zero. Not entirely sure what exactly a zero operator is however.










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  • 2




    $begingroup$
    So two vectors of length zero and different directions are... equal? Thinking of vectors in terms of length and direction is a very misguided idea which doesn't work in mathematics.
    $endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila
    18 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Asaf it basically works in an inner product space as long as you make sure that you only have one vector of length zero (whether it has all directions or no direction probably doesn't matter)
    $endgroup$
    – Mark S.
    15 hours ago








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @Mark: I know that. My point is that "vector is direction and length" is a bad intuition about vectors.
    $endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila
    14 hours ago






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @AsafKaragilan How should one think about vectors then?
    $endgroup$
    – Arlene
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Arlene vectors are just a convenient way to store numbers. They are useful in 2d/3d geometry to think about them as direction & magnitude, but a 0 length vector in such geometry HAS no direction, because in order for the direction to be meaningful, it must have a distance.
    $endgroup$
    – UKMonkey
    9 hours ago
















7












$begingroup$


I'm pretty sure that a zero vector is just a vector of length zero with direction, zero scalar is just the number zero, and that a zero function is any function that maps to zero. Not entirely sure what exactly a zero operator is however.










share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




Arlene is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    So two vectors of length zero and different directions are... equal? Thinking of vectors in terms of length and direction is a very misguided idea which doesn't work in mathematics.
    $endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila
    18 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Asaf it basically works in an inner product space as long as you make sure that you only have one vector of length zero (whether it has all directions or no direction probably doesn't matter)
    $endgroup$
    – Mark S.
    15 hours ago








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @Mark: I know that. My point is that "vector is direction and length" is a bad intuition about vectors.
    $endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila
    14 hours ago






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @AsafKaragilan How should one think about vectors then?
    $endgroup$
    – Arlene
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Arlene vectors are just a convenient way to store numbers. They are useful in 2d/3d geometry to think about them as direction & magnitude, but a 0 length vector in such geometry HAS no direction, because in order for the direction to be meaningful, it must have a distance.
    $endgroup$
    – UKMonkey
    9 hours ago














7












7








7


3



$begingroup$


I'm pretty sure that a zero vector is just a vector of length zero with direction, zero scalar is just the number zero, and that a zero function is any function that maps to zero. Not entirely sure what exactly a zero operator is however.










share|cite|improve this question









New contributor




Arlene is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.







$endgroup$




I'm pretty sure that a zero vector is just a vector of length zero with direction, zero scalar is just the number zero, and that a zero function is any function that maps to zero. Not entirely sure what exactly a zero operator is however.







linear-algebra soft-question terminology






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edited yesterday









J. W. Tanner

2,1021117




2,1021117






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asked yesterday









ArleneArlene

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  • 2




    $begingroup$
    So two vectors of length zero and different directions are... equal? Thinking of vectors in terms of length and direction is a very misguided idea which doesn't work in mathematics.
    $endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila
    18 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Asaf it basically works in an inner product space as long as you make sure that you only have one vector of length zero (whether it has all directions or no direction probably doesn't matter)
    $endgroup$
    – Mark S.
    15 hours ago








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @Mark: I know that. My point is that "vector is direction and length" is a bad intuition about vectors.
    $endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila
    14 hours ago






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @AsafKaragilan How should one think about vectors then?
    $endgroup$
    – Arlene
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Arlene vectors are just a convenient way to store numbers. They are useful in 2d/3d geometry to think about them as direction & magnitude, but a 0 length vector in such geometry HAS no direction, because in order for the direction to be meaningful, it must have a distance.
    $endgroup$
    – UKMonkey
    9 hours ago














  • 2




    $begingroup$
    So two vectors of length zero and different directions are... equal? Thinking of vectors in terms of length and direction is a very misguided idea which doesn't work in mathematics.
    $endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila
    18 hours ago






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Asaf it basically works in an inner product space as long as you make sure that you only have one vector of length zero (whether it has all directions or no direction probably doesn't matter)
    $endgroup$
    – Mark S.
    15 hours ago








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @Mark: I know that. My point is that "vector is direction and length" is a bad intuition about vectors.
    $endgroup$
    – Asaf Karagila
    14 hours ago






  • 3




    $begingroup$
    @AsafKaragilan How should one think about vectors then?
    $endgroup$
    – Arlene
    11 hours ago






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Arlene vectors are just a convenient way to store numbers. They are useful in 2d/3d geometry to think about them as direction & magnitude, but a 0 length vector in such geometry HAS no direction, because in order for the direction to be meaningful, it must have a distance.
    $endgroup$
    – UKMonkey
    9 hours ago








2




2




$begingroup$
So two vectors of length zero and different directions are... equal? Thinking of vectors in terms of length and direction is a very misguided idea which doesn't work in mathematics.
$endgroup$
– Asaf Karagila
18 hours ago




$begingroup$
So two vectors of length zero and different directions are... equal? Thinking of vectors in terms of length and direction is a very misguided idea which doesn't work in mathematics.
$endgroup$
– Asaf Karagila
18 hours ago




2




2




$begingroup$
@Asaf it basically works in an inner product space as long as you make sure that you only have one vector of length zero (whether it has all directions or no direction probably doesn't matter)
$endgroup$
– Mark S.
15 hours ago






$begingroup$
@Asaf it basically works in an inner product space as long as you make sure that you only have one vector of length zero (whether it has all directions or no direction probably doesn't matter)
$endgroup$
– Mark S.
15 hours ago






3




3




$begingroup$
@Mark: I know that. My point is that "vector is direction and length" is a bad intuition about vectors.
$endgroup$
– Asaf Karagila
14 hours ago




$begingroup$
@Mark: I know that. My point is that "vector is direction and length" is a bad intuition about vectors.
$endgroup$
– Asaf Karagila
14 hours ago




3




3




$begingroup$
@AsafKaragilan How should one think about vectors then?
$endgroup$
– Arlene
11 hours ago




$begingroup$
@AsafKaragilan How should one think about vectors then?
$endgroup$
– Arlene
11 hours ago




1




1




$begingroup$
@Arlene vectors are just a convenient way to store numbers. They are useful in 2d/3d geometry to think about them as direction & magnitude, but a 0 length vector in such geometry HAS no direction, because in order for the direction to be meaningful, it must have a distance.
$endgroup$
– UKMonkey
9 hours ago




$begingroup$
@Arlene vectors are just a convenient way to store numbers. They are useful in 2d/3d geometry to think about them as direction & magnitude, but a 0 length vector in such geometry HAS no direction, because in order for the direction to be meaningful, it must have a distance.
$endgroup$
– UKMonkey
9 hours ago










3 Answers
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21












$begingroup$

The zero vector is a vector, i.e. a member of whatever vector space is under consideration. It has the property that adding it to any vector $bf v$ in the vector space leaves $bf v$ unchanged.



The zero scalar is a scalar, i.e. a member of the field that is part of the definition of the vector space (usually the real or complex numbers in an elementary linear algebra course). It has the property that multiplying
any vector $bf v$ by it gives the zero vector of the second vector space.



The zero operator is a linear operator, i.e. a linear map from a vector space to a vector space (possibly the same one). It has the property that it maps any member of the first vector space to the zero vector in the second vector space.



The zero functional is a linear functional, i.e. a linear map from a vector space to the scalars. It has the property that it maps any member of the vector space to the zero scalar.






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$





















    6












    $begingroup$

    In an algebraic context where there is a notion of addition, $0$ is the element such that
    $$
    x + 0 = x
    $$

    for every $x$.



    If the context is the real numbers, then $0$ is just a number. If the context is the Euclidean coordinate plane, $0$ is the vector $(0,0)$. If the context is the set of real valued functions on the unit interval then $0$ is the function whose value at every point is $0$. If the context is the set of linear operators from one vector space to another then $0$ is the operator whose value at every point of the domain is the $0$ vector in the codomain.



    So the meaning of the symbol "$0$" changes depending on the context. That's potentially confusing (which is why you are asking the question.) The advantage in using the same symbol in these different contexts is that it's easy to associate that symbol with its behavior: it's the additive identity.






    share|cite|improve this answer









    $endgroup$









    • 1




      $begingroup$
      The set of linear operators between two vector spaces $X$, $Y$ is itself a vector space: $Z := {f: X to Y | f text{ linear function}}$, where addition and scalar multiplication are pointwise. Now the zero vector of that $Z$ vector space is the zero operator. So in some sense writing $0$ for the zero operator in fact denotes the $0$ in a specific vector space.
      $endgroup$
      – ComFreek
      19 hours ago










    • $begingroup$
      @ComFreek In fact here all of the OP's examples are vector spaces. The convention extends to modules over a ring ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Module_(mathematics) ) and to some even more general abstractions.
      $endgroup$
      – Ethan Bolker
      13 hours ago



















    2












    $begingroup$

    A pedantic answer would be that those differences are not defined, since subtraction requires two operands of the same type, and those values all have different types. As a matter of good habit, one does not even start considering values in algebra without first specifying the basic set from which they are taken, in other words their type. In linear algebra the two most basic types are the field of scalars (often denoted by $F$ or $K$) and some space of vectors over that field (often denoted by $V$ or some similar letter), and there are various mechanisms to form new basic sets, such as Cartesian products, matrices, sets of linear functions $Vto W$ where $V$ and $W$ are vector spaces over$~F$ (possibly the same one). All these basic sets are assumed to be disjoint, so that any given value belongs to at most one of them, which set then gives the type of that value. Usually these sets come equipped with a set of operations; these can only be applied to elements of that set. To complicate the description (but simplify life) operations on different sets often carry the same name, for instance the symbol '$+$' can be used for the addition of scalars, vectors, matrices, linear maps and many more things; in computer science this is called operator overloading. The reader is supposed to resolve the ambiguity by checking the types of the arguments given to the operators.



    A special complication occurs for the symbol $0$ (and to some extent for other symbols like $mathbf I$), which is overloaded in the same sense: it refers to different special values in each type (in linear algebra there is hardly any type that does not have its own value $0$). In this sense it can be view as an overloaded operator with no (i.e., $0inBbb N$) arguments. This poses an obvious difficulty with deducing the intended meaning from the types of the arguments, so instead for '$0$' it must be in some other manner be clear from the context. If you see $0+x$ in a formula, for instance, you may assume that this is the zero value of the same type as $x$, but in some cases the context can be really ambiguous; in that case it is the task of the author to make clear what type of "zero" is meant. But in no case should one pretend that the zero scalar, the zero vector, a zero matrix, a zero linear map are the same thing; the distinction goes even further, as the zero vectors of unrelated vector spaces, as well as zero matrices of different dimensions, are not assumed to be the same thing, even though they all share the same name. (In practice there is not much difficulty in living with this theoretic ambiguity, and one might even maintain that writing $0$ means indicating that the expression at that place is endowed with the quality of "zeroness", which usually completely governs how it behaves.)






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      I like to see it as a dependently typed one-argument function whose argument is inferred from the context most of the times: $0: Pi_{v: vectorspace} textrm{dom}(v)$. It accepts a vector space and returns its zero element as an element of its domain. Of course, you can generalize up to monoids. Sometimes people write $0_V$ and $0_W$ exactly to help disambiguate or ease the human reading process.
      $endgroup$
      – ComFreek
      13 hours ago













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    3 Answers
    3






    active

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    3 Answers
    3






    active

    oldest

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    active

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    active

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    21












    $begingroup$

    The zero vector is a vector, i.e. a member of whatever vector space is under consideration. It has the property that adding it to any vector $bf v$ in the vector space leaves $bf v$ unchanged.



    The zero scalar is a scalar, i.e. a member of the field that is part of the definition of the vector space (usually the real or complex numbers in an elementary linear algebra course). It has the property that multiplying
    any vector $bf v$ by it gives the zero vector of the second vector space.



    The zero operator is a linear operator, i.e. a linear map from a vector space to a vector space (possibly the same one). It has the property that it maps any member of the first vector space to the zero vector in the second vector space.



    The zero functional is a linear functional, i.e. a linear map from a vector space to the scalars. It has the property that it maps any member of the vector space to the zero scalar.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$


















      21












      $begingroup$

      The zero vector is a vector, i.e. a member of whatever vector space is under consideration. It has the property that adding it to any vector $bf v$ in the vector space leaves $bf v$ unchanged.



      The zero scalar is a scalar, i.e. a member of the field that is part of the definition of the vector space (usually the real or complex numbers in an elementary linear algebra course). It has the property that multiplying
      any vector $bf v$ by it gives the zero vector of the second vector space.



      The zero operator is a linear operator, i.e. a linear map from a vector space to a vector space (possibly the same one). It has the property that it maps any member of the first vector space to the zero vector in the second vector space.



      The zero functional is a linear functional, i.e. a linear map from a vector space to the scalars. It has the property that it maps any member of the vector space to the zero scalar.






      share|cite|improve this answer











      $endgroup$
















        21












        21








        21





        $begingroup$

        The zero vector is a vector, i.e. a member of whatever vector space is under consideration. It has the property that adding it to any vector $bf v$ in the vector space leaves $bf v$ unchanged.



        The zero scalar is a scalar, i.e. a member of the field that is part of the definition of the vector space (usually the real or complex numbers in an elementary linear algebra course). It has the property that multiplying
        any vector $bf v$ by it gives the zero vector of the second vector space.



        The zero operator is a linear operator, i.e. a linear map from a vector space to a vector space (possibly the same one). It has the property that it maps any member of the first vector space to the zero vector in the second vector space.



        The zero functional is a linear functional, i.e. a linear map from a vector space to the scalars. It has the property that it maps any member of the vector space to the zero scalar.






        share|cite|improve this answer











        $endgroup$



        The zero vector is a vector, i.e. a member of whatever vector space is under consideration. It has the property that adding it to any vector $bf v$ in the vector space leaves $bf v$ unchanged.



        The zero scalar is a scalar, i.e. a member of the field that is part of the definition of the vector space (usually the real or complex numbers in an elementary linear algebra course). It has the property that multiplying
        any vector $bf v$ by it gives the zero vector of the second vector space.



        The zero operator is a linear operator, i.e. a linear map from a vector space to a vector space (possibly the same one). It has the property that it maps any member of the first vector space to the zero vector in the second vector space.



        The zero functional is a linear functional, i.e. a linear map from a vector space to the scalars. It has the property that it maps any member of the vector space to the zero scalar.







        share|cite|improve this answer














        share|cite|improve this answer



        share|cite|improve this answer








        edited yesterday

























        answered yesterday









        Robert IsraelRobert Israel

        324k23214468




        324k23214468























            6












            $begingroup$

            In an algebraic context where there is a notion of addition, $0$ is the element such that
            $$
            x + 0 = x
            $$

            for every $x$.



            If the context is the real numbers, then $0$ is just a number. If the context is the Euclidean coordinate plane, $0$ is the vector $(0,0)$. If the context is the set of real valued functions on the unit interval then $0$ is the function whose value at every point is $0$. If the context is the set of linear operators from one vector space to another then $0$ is the operator whose value at every point of the domain is the $0$ vector in the codomain.



            So the meaning of the symbol "$0$" changes depending on the context. That's potentially confusing (which is why you are asking the question.) The advantage in using the same symbol in these different contexts is that it's easy to associate that symbol with its behavior: it's the additive identity.






            share|cite|improve this answer









            $endgroup$









            • 1




              $begingroup$
              The set of linear operators between two vector spaces $X$, $Y$ is itself a vector space: $Z := {f: X to Y | f text{ linear function}}$, where addition and scalar multiplication are pointwise. Now the zero vector of that $Z$ vector space is the zero operator. So in some sense writing $0$ for the zero operator in fact denotes the $0$ in a specific vector space.
              $endgroup$
              – ComFreek
              19 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @ComFreek In fact here all of the OP's examples are vector spaces. The convention extends to modules over a ring ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Module_(mathematics) ) and to some even more general abstractions.
              $endgroup$
              – Ethan Bolker
              13 hours ago
















            6












            $begingroup$

            In an algebraic context where there is a notion of addition, $0$ is the element such that
            $$
            x + 0 = x
            $$

            for every $x$.



            If the context is the real numbers, then $0$ is just a number. If the context is the Euclidean coordinate plane, $0$ is the vector $(0,0)$. If the context is the set of real valued functions on the unit interval then $0$ is the function whose value at every point is $0$. If the context is the set of linear operators from one vector space to another then $0$ is the operator whose value at every point of the domain is the $0$ vector in the codomain.



            So the meaning of the symbol "$0$" changes depending on the context. That's potentially confusing (which is why you are asking the question.) The advantage in using the same symbol in these different contexts is that it's easy to associate that symbol with its behavior: it's the additive identity.






            share|cite|improve this answer









            $endgroup$









            • 1




              $begingroup$
              The set of linear operators between two vector spaces $X$, $Y$ is itself a vector space: $Z := {f: X to Y | f text{ linear function}}$, where addition and scalar multiplication are pointwise. Now the zero vector of that $Z$ vector space is the zero operator. So in some sense writing $0$ for the zero operator in fact denotes the $0$ in a specific vector space.
              $endgroup$
              – ComFreek
              19 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @ComFreek In fact here all of the OP's examples are vector spaces. The convention extends to modules over a ring ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Module_(mathematics) ) and to some even more general abstractions.
              $endgroup$
              – Ethan Bolker
              13 hours ago














            6












            6








            6





            $begingroup$

            In an algebraic context where there is a notion of addition, $0$ is the element such that
            $$
            x + 0 = x
            $$

            for every $x$.



            If the context is the real numbers, then $0$ is just a number. If the context is the Euclidean coordinate plane, $0$ is the vector $(0,0)$. If the context is the set of real valued functions on the unit interval then $0$ is the function whose value at every point is $0$. If the context is the set of linear operators from one vector space to another then $0$ is the operator whose value at every point of the domain is the $0$ vector in the codomain.



            So the meaning of the symbol "$0$" changes depending on the context. That's potentially confusing (which is why you are asking the question.) The advantage in using the same symbol in these different contexts is that it's easy to associate that symbol with its behavior: it's the additive identity.






            share|cite|improve this answer









            $endgroup$



            In an algebraic context where there is a notion of addition, $0$ is the element such that
            $$
            x + 0 = x
            $$

            for every $x$.



            If the context is the real numbers, then $0$ is just a number. If the context is the Euclidean coordinate plane, $0$ is the vector $(0,0)$. If the context is the set of real valued functions on the unit interval then $0$ is the function whose value at every point is $0$. If the context is the set of linear operators from one vector space to another then $0$ is the operator whose value at every point of the domain is the $0$ vector in the codomain.



            So the meaning of the symbol "$0$" changes depending on the context. That's potentially confusing (which is why you are asking the question.) The advantage in using the same symbol in these different contexts is that it's easy to associate that symbol with its behavior: it's the additive identity.







            share|cite|improve this answer












            share|cite|improve this answer



            share|cite|improve this answer










            answered yesterday









            Ethan BolkerEthan Bolker

            43.5k551116




            43.5k551116








            • 1




              $begingroup$
              The set of linear operators between two vector spaces $X$, $Y$ is itself a vector space: $Z := {f: X to Y | f text{ linear function}}$, where addition and scalar multiplication are pointwise. Now the zero vector of that $Z$ vector space is the zero operator. So in some sense writing $0$ for the zero operator in fact denotes the $0$ in a specific vector space.
              $endgroup$
              – ComFreek
              19 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @ComFreek In fact here all of the OP's examples are vector spaces. The convention extends to modules over a ring ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Module_(mathematics) ) and to some even more general abstractions.
              $endgroup$
              – Ethan Bolker
              13 hours ago














            • 1




              $begingroup$
              The set of linear operators between two vector spaces $X$, $Y$ is itself a vector space: $Z := {f: X to Y | f text{ linear function}}$, where addition and scalar multiplication are pointwise. Now the zero vector of that $Z$ vector space is the zero operator. So in some sense writing $0$ for the zero operator in fact denotes the $0$ in a specific vector space.
              $endgroup$
              – ComFreek
              19 hours ago










            • $begingroup$
              @ComFreek In fact here all of the OP's examples are vector spaces. The convention extends to modules over a ring ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Module_(mathematics) ) and to some even more general abstractions.
              $endgroup$
              – Ethan Bolker
              13 hours ago








            1




            1




            $begingroup$
            The set of linear operators between two vector spaces $X$, $Y$ is itself a vector space: $Z := {f: X to Y | f text{ linear function}}$, where addition and scalar multiplication are pointwise. Now the zero vector of that $Z$ vector space is the zero operator. So in some sense writing $0$ for the zero operator in fact denotes the $0$ in a specific vector space.
            $endgroup$
            – ComFreek
            19 hours ago




            $begingroup$
            The set of linear operators between two vector spaces $X$, $Y$ is itself a vector space: $Z := {f: X to Y | f text{ linear function}}$, where addition and scalar multiplication are pointwise. Now the zero vector of that $Z$ vector space is the zero operator. So in some sense writing $0$ for the zero operator in fact denotes the $0$ in a specific vector space.
            $endgroup$
            – ComFreek
            19 hours ago












            $begingroup$
            @ComFreek In fact here all of the OP's examples are vector spaces. The convention extends to modules over a ring ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Module_(mathematics) ) and to some even more general abstractions.
            $endgroup$
            – Ethan Bolker
            13 hours ago




            $begingroup$
            @ComFreek In fact here all of the OP's examples are vector spaces. The convention extends to modules over a ring ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Module_(mathematics) ) and to some even more general abstractions.
            $endgroup$
            – Ethan Bolker
            13 hours ago











            2












            $begingroup$

            A pedantic answer would be that those differences are not defined, since subtraction requires two operands of the same type, and those values all have different types. As a matter of good habit, one does not even start considering values in algebra without first specifying the basic set from which they are taken, in other words their type. In linear algebra the two most basic types are the field of scalars (often denoted by $F$ or $K$) and some space of vectors over that field (often denoted by $V$ or some similar letter), and there are various mechanisms to form new basic sets, such as Cartesian products, matrices, sets of linear functions $Vto W$ where $V$ and $W$ are vector spaces over$~F$ (possibly the same one). All these basic sets are assumed to be disjoint, so that any given value belongs to at most one of them, which set then gives the type of that value. Usually these sets come equipped with a set of operations; these can only be applied to elements of that set. To complicate the description (but simplify life) operations on different sets often carry the same name, for instance the symbol '$+$' can be used for the addition of scalars, vectors, matrices, linear maps and many more things; in computer science this is called operator overloading. The reader is supposed to resolve the ambiguity by checking the types of the arguments given to the operators.



            A special complication occurs for the symbol $0$ (and to some extent for other symbols like $mathbf I$), which is overloaded in the same sense: it refers to different special values in each type (in linear algebra there is hardly any type that does not have its own value $0$). In this sense it can be view as an overloaded operator with no (i.e., $0inBbb N$) arguments. This poses an obvious difficulty with deducing the intended meaning from the types of the arguments, so instead for '$0$' it must be in some other manner be clear from the context. If you see $0+x$ in a formula, for instance, you may assume that this is the zero value of the same type as $x$, but in some cases the context can be really ambiguous; in that case it is the task of the author to make clear what type of "zero" is meant. But in no case should one pretend that the zero scalar, the zero vector, a zero matrix, a zero linear map are the same thing; the distinction goes even further, as the zero vectors of unrelated vector spaces, as well as zero matrices of different dimensions, are not assumed to be the same thing, even though they all share the same name. (In practice there is not much difficulty in living with this theoretic ambiguity, and one might even maintain that writing $0$ means indicating that the expression at that place is endowed with the quality of "zeroness", which usually completely governs how it behaves.)






            share|cite|improve this answer











            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              I like to see it as a dependently typed one-argument function whose argument is inferred from the context most of the times: $0: Pi_{v: vectorspace} textrm{dom}(v)$. It accepts a vector space and returns its zero element as an element of its domain. Of course, you can generalize up to monoids. Sometimes people write $0_V$ and $0_W$ exactly to help disambiguate or ease the human reading process.
              $endgroup$
              – ComFreek
              13 hours ago


















            2












            $begingroup$

            A pedantic answer would be that those differences are not defined, since subtraction requires two operands of the same type, and those values all have different types. As a matter of good habit, one does not even start considering values in algebra without first specifying the basic set from which they are taken, in other words their type. In linear algebra the two most basic types are the field of scalars (often denoted by $F$ or $K$) and some space of vectors over that field (often denoted by $V$ or some similar letter), and there are various mechanisms to form new basic sets, such as Cartesian products, matrices, sets of linear functions $Vto W$ where $V$ and $W$ are vector spaces over$~F$ (possibly the same one). All these basic sets are assumed to be disjoint, so that any given value belongs to at most one of them, which set then gives the type of that value. Usually these sets come equipped with a set of operations; these can only be applied to elements of that set. To complicate the description (but simplify life) operations on different sets often carry the same name, for instance the symbol '$+$' can be used for the addition of scalars, vectors, matrices, linear maps and many more things; in computer science this is called operator overloading. The reader is supposed to resolve the ambiguity by checking the types of the arguments given to the operators.



            A special complication occurs for the symbol $0$ (and to some extent for other symbols like $mathbf I$), which is overloaded in the same sense: it refers to different special values in each type (in linear algebra there is hardly any type that does not have its own value $0$). In this sense it can be view as an overloaded operator with no (i.e., $0inBbb N$) arguments. This poses an obvious difficulty with deducing the intended meaning from the types of the arguments, so instead for '$0$' it must be in some other manner be clear from the context. If you see $0+x$ in a formula, for instance, you may assume that this is the zero value of the same type as $x$, but in some cases the context can be really ambiguous; in that case it is the task of the author to make clear what type of "zero" is meant. But in no case should one pretend that the zero scalar, the zero vector, a zero matrix, a zero linear map are the same thing; the distinction goes even further, as the zero vectors of unrelated vector spaces, as well as zero matrices of different dimensions, are not assumed to be the same thing, even though they all share the same name. (In practice there is not much difficulty in living with this theoretic ambiguity, and one might even maintain that writing $0$ means indicating that the expression at that place is endowed with the quality of "zeroness", which usually completely governs how it behaves.)






            share|cite|improve this answer











            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              I like to see it as a dependently typed one-argument function whose argument is inferred from the context most of the times: $0: Pi_{v: vectorspace} textrm{dom}(v)$. It accepts a vector space and returns its zero element as an element of its domain. Of course, you can generalize up to monoids. Sometimes people write $0_V$ and $0_W$ exactly to help disambiguate or ease the human reading process.
              $endgroup$
              – ComFreek
              13 hours ago
















            2












            2








            2





            $begingroup$

            A pedantic answer would be that those differences are not defined, since subtraction requires two operands of the same type, and those values all have different types. As a matter of good habit, one does not even start considering values in algebra without first specifying the basic set from which they are taken, in other words their type. In linear algebra the two most basic types are the field of scalars (often denoted by $F$ or $K$) and some space of vectors over that field (often denoted by $V$ or some similar letter), and there are various mechanisms to form new basic sets, such as Cartesian products, matrices, sets of linear functions $Vto W$ where $V$ and $W$ are vector spaces over$~F$ (possibly the same one). All these basic sets are assumed to be disjoint, so that any given value belongs to at most one of them, which set then gives the type of that value. Usually these sets come equipped with a set of operations; these can only be applied to elements of that set. To complicate the description (but simplify life) operations on different sets often carry the same name, for instance the symbol '$+$' can be used for the addition of scalars, vectors, matrices, linear maps and many more things; in computer science this is called operator overloading. The reader is supposed to resolve the ambiguity by checking the types of the arguments given to the operators.



            A special complication occurs for the symbol $0$ (and to some extent for other symbols like $mathbf I$), which is overloaded in the same sense: it refers to different special values in each type (in linear algebra there is hardly any type that does not have its own value $0$). In this sense it can be view as an overloaded operator with no (i.e., $0inBbb N$) arguments. This poses an obvious difficulty with deducing the intended meaning from the types of the arguments, so instead for '$0$' it must be in some other manner be clear from the context. If you see $0+x$ in a formula, for instance, you may assume that this is the zero value of the same type as $x$, but in some cases the context can be really ambiguous; in that case it is the task of the author to make clear what type of "zero" is meant. But in no case should one pretend that the zero scalar, the zero vector, a zero matrix, a zero linear map are the same thing; the distinction goes even further, as the zero vectors of unrelated vector spaces, as well as zero matrices of different dimensions, are not assumed to be the same thing, even though they all share the same name. (In practice there is not much difficulty in living with this theoretic ambiguity, and one might even maintain that writing $0$ means indicating that the expression at that place is endowed with the quality of "zeroness", which usually completely governs how it behaves.)






            share|cite|improve this answer











            $endgroup$



            A pedantic answer would be that those differences are not defined, since subtraction requires two operands of the same type, and those values all have different types. As a matter of good habit, one does not even start considering values in algebra without first specifying the basic set from which they are taken, in other words their type. In linear algebra the two most basic types are the field of scalars (often denoted by $F$ or $K$) and some space of vectors over that field (often denoted by $V$ or some similar letter), and there are various mechanisms to form new basic sets, such as Cartesian products, matrices, sets of linear functions $Vto W$ where $V$ and $W$ are vector spaces over$~F$ (possibly the same one). All these basic sets are assumed to be disjoint, so that any given value belongs to at most one of them, which set then gives the type of that value. Usually these sets come equipped with a set of operations; these can only be applied to elements of that set. To complicate the description (but simplify life) operations on different sets often carry the same name, for instance the symbol '$+$' can be used for the addition of scalars, vectors, matrices, linear maps and many more things; in computer science this is called operator overloading. The reader is supposed to resolve the ambiguity by checking the types of the arguments given to the operators.



            A special complication occurs for the symbol $0$ (and to some extent for other symbols like $mathbf I$), which is overloaded in the same sense: it refers to different special values in each type (in linear algebra there is hardly any type that does not have its own value $0$). In this sense it can be view as an overloaded operator with no (i.e., $0inBbb N$) arguments. This poses an obvious difficulty with deducing the intended meaning from the types of the arguments, so instead for '$0$' it must be in some other manner be clear from the context. If you see $0+x$ in a formula, for instance, you may assume that this is the zero value of the same type as $x$, but in some cases the context can be really ambiguous; in that case it is the task of the author to make clear what type of "zero" is meant. But in no case should one pretend that the zero scalar, the zero vector, a zero matrix, a zero linear map are the same thing; the distinction goes even further, as the zero vectors of unrelated vector spaces, as well as zero matrices of different dimensions, are not assumed to be the same thing, even though they all share the same name. (In practice there is not much difficulty in living with this theoretic ambiguity, and one might even maintain that writing $0$ means indicating that the expression at that place is endowed with the quality of "zeroness", which usually completely governs how it behaves.)







            share|cite|improve this answer














            share|cite|improve this answer



            share|cite|improve this answer








            edited 12 hours ago

























            answered 15 hours ago









            Marc van LeeuwenMarc van Leeuwen

            87.4k5109224




            87.4k5109224












            • $begingroup$
              I like to see it as a dependently typed one-argument function whose argument is inferred from the context most of the times: $0: Pi_{v: vectorspace} textrm{dom}(v)$. It accepts a vector space and returns its zero element as an element of its domain. Of course, you can generalize up to monoids. Sometimes people write $0_V$ and $0_W$ exactly to help disambiguate or ease the human reading process.
              $endgroup$
              – ComFreek
              13 hours ago




















            • $begingroup$
              I like to see it as a dependently typed one-argument function whose argument is inferred from the context most of the times: $0: Pi_{v: vectorspace} textrm{dom}(v)$. It accepts a vector space and returns its zero element as an element of its domain. Of course, you can generalize up to monoids. Sometimes people write $0_V$ and $0_W$ exactly to help disambiguate or ease the human reading process.
              $endgroup$
              – ComFreek
              13 hours ago


















            $begingroup$
            I like to see it as a dependently typed one-argument function whose argument is inferred from the context most of the times: $0: Pi_{v: vectorspace} textrm{dom}(v)$. It accepts a vector space and returns its zero element as an element of its domain. Of course, you can generalize up to monoids. Sometimes people write $0_V$ and $0_W$ exactly to help disambiguate or ease the human reading process.
            $endgroup$
            – ComFreek
            13 hours ago






            $begingroup$
            I like to see it as a dependently typed one-argument function whose argument is inferred from the context most of the times: $0: Pi_{v: vectorspace} textrm{dom}(v)$. It accepts a vector space and returns its zero element as an element of its domain. Of course, you can generalize up to monoids. Sometimes people write $0_V$ and $0_W$ exactly to help disambiguate or ease the human reading process.
            $endgroup$
            – ComFreek
            13 hours ago












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