A REVIEW REVIEWED.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2708, 1 March 1916, Page 7

A REVIEW REVIEWED.

Sir, —Referring to the review of my pamphlot on graphical methods, reviewed on pago 9 of your issue of February 26, 1 object strongly to the statements coutaiued'in the latter parts of tlie last two paragraphs. The reviewer says •'{!) thut my rulo does not always give the true number of solutions. I deny thia. He also says it may be relied on 'when the angular magnitudes do v not exceed a quadrant, but (2) in certain cases, ivhero tho diagram indicates two solutions, both have to be rejected. I deny this statement also, as, out of the eight examples given iu my pamphlet, two of them (figs. 3 and 7) have all the given magnitudes, exceeding a quadrant. At the end of the article the reviewer states (3) that tho mqthod is of very limited application. I deny this also, as it is of universal application. Ho also states (4) that "its utility for accurate ca'culation is doubtful." I presume he would make this statement against all text-books on "descriptive geometry," but lio is mixing„ up two things,, and comparing "graphical construction" with "numerical calculation." By referring to pago 2of niy paniplVet, the first three lines, you will see that I give the calculated results to the tenth part of a second, which ought to be sufficient for any reasonable being. In conclusion, I challenge your reviewer to give me ono instance where niy method does not give the correot result. —I am, etc., C. W. ADAMS. Lower Hutt, February 28. [In order to more easily refer to tile separate objections raised by Mr. Adams tho liberty has been taken of numbering them. Ab justification for statements v (l) and (2), which Mr. Adams has challenged, it is suflicicnt to instance the case where A is 30deg., a JoOdeg., iT 60deg. Mr. Adams need not protest at' onco that this is an impossible triattglo (as, of course, it is); tho point is that the'diagram does not N show up its impossibility, but indicates two solutions. , As regards objections (3) and (4) the author has misunderstood my meaning. I say that the method is of plication because it has. only been applied to the two cases in the solution of triaJigles, in which a sido and the opposite angle ar© given, and in these cases the graphical construction gives only one of tho remaining parts. Hence It seems to be of doubtful -utility for the actual determination of the unknown parts, since it only partially takes the place of calculation—Tho Reviewer.]