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Author Topic: On the use of -ve and +ve...  (Read 723 times)

Andir

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On the use of -ve and +ve...
« on: January 22, 2010, 10:10:21 am »
Today someone at work tried to tell me that +ve is a common convention for "positive" and -ve is commonly used for "negative" in documents.

I personally have never seen it and a rather quick internet search netted me few results.  Is this something being taught in college courses as shorthand for positive/negative?  Wouldn't it jsut be easier to use +/- ?

My personal opinion on the matter is that it's like saying "NIC Card" or "PIN Number" where you have a redundant word or letter.  They look like negative've and positive've to me.
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Quote from: Sergius on September 27, 2009, 02:08:49 pm
"Having faith" that the bridge will not fall, implies that the bridge itself isn't that trustworthy. It's not that different from "I pray that the bridge will hold my weight."

eerr

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Re: On the use of -ve and +ve...
« Reply #1 on: January 22, 2010, 10:25:58 am »
Are you sure it was shorthand for plus and minus, rather than "positive" and "negative"?
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Cheeetar

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Re: On the use of -ve and +ve...
« Reply #2 on: January 22, 2010, 10:36:37 am »
I believe he is sure that it is supposed to be shorthand for positive and negative, and is confused at the shorthand -ve and +ve, because - and + already mean negative and positive and don't need the 've' part.
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Muz

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Re: On the use of -ve and +ve...
« Reply #3 on: January 22, 2010, 10:45:39 am »
+ve = positive
-ve = negative

Yeah, that's how it works with electrical engineering, at least where I learned it. The problem with +/- is that it's a little misleading if you ever put arithmetic in there. "Connect to + of battery"

You can be not lazy and write the full words, but everyone knows that engineers and mathematicians just love to short form everything.
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Andir

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Re: On the use of -ve and +ve...
« Reply #4 on: January 22, 2010, 02:26:10 pm »
Quote from: Muz on January 22, 2010, 10:45:39 am
+ve = positive
-ve = negative

Yeah, that's how it works with electrical engineering, at least where I learned it. The problem with +/- is that it's a little misleading if you ever put arithmetic in there. "Connect to + of battery"

You can be not lazy and write the full words, but everyone knows that engineers and mathematicians just love to short form everything.
I always thought that's where the parenthesis and/or quote form came from.  My father is an electrician and went to college for electrical engineering... I've see him use (+) more often than anything.  It seems to separate the symbol from the sentence.  Even quotes for "+" would be a better choice if you ask me.
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Quote from: Sergius on September 27, 2009, 02:08:49 pm
"Having faith" that the bridge will not fall, implies that the bridge itself isn't that trustworthy. It's not that different from "I pray that the bridge will hold my weight."