Talk:Perfection

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Aren't numbers with greater divisor sums than themselves called abundant rather than redundant? I'd replace it myself, but I don't have access to the citation, so I can't be sure there wasn't a different archaic term in use. Metasquares (talk) 04:05, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

The Wikipedia article on "perfect number," insofar as it is correct, appears to support your terminology. The Polish-language original of Władysław Tatarkiewicz's book On Perfection, on which this Wikipedia "Perfection" article is based, quotes (p. 25) the Latin term "redundantio" (and renders it in Polish as "nadmierne"—"excessive," "superfluous," "redundant"). The translator has rendered "redundantio" into English with the calque, "redundant."

I wonder whether the Latin "redundantio," as printed, might not be in error, and perhaps should have been cited instead as "abundantio"?

Or maybe the Latin "redundantio" is correct but should nevertheless be rendered into English as "abundant"?

I would tend to defer to your doubtless greater knowledge of mathematics. In any case, your caution, expressed above, is commendable. Nihil novi (talk) 05:23, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

P.S. I like your music, poems and art work. Nihil novi (talk) 05:49, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Picture

Please change the picture of Descartes to this one: Image:Frans Hals - Portret van René Descartes.jpg so the lower resolution picture can delete in Commons 213.186.252.252 (talk) 12:15, 11 February 2008 (UTC)

Done. Nihil novi (talk) 16:13, 11 February 2008 (UTC)