Talk:Newton's Sums

Isn't this called Newton's Sums instead of Newton sums?

Most people I know call them Newton sums, but I believe the "proper" term is Newton-Gerard Identities. --ComplexZeta 22:41, 22 August 2006 (EDT)

Question

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How can the sum of squares equal a negative number (or does the polynomial have imaginary roots?). --Sean 17:22, 7 November 2006 (EST)

Come now, you should be able to figure that one out for yourself (especially since 1 is a root of the polynomial). --JBL 17:31, 7 November 2006 (EST)

OK, wow, stupid question. Whoooops! --Sean 22:35, 7 November 2006 (EST)

Better Question

Should we change the example to find instead? Reason being, this would show how to use the sums for higher powers, showing that you still only have 4 terms in your equation when you go for a sum that is greater than 4? (i.e. $S_4 + 3S_3 + 4S_2 − 8S_1 = 0$ (Error compiling LaTeX. Unknown error_msg) and then $S_5 + 3S_4 + 4S_3 − 8S_2 = 0$ (Error compiling LaTeX. Unknown error_msg) (Hopefully you get my meaning) (this was something that confused me when I started learning Newton sums). --Sean 22:40, 7 November 2006 (EST)