It depends on (or in) what space you do your dragging. If that space represents cycles (another representation of angle) then dragging from 0 to 1 gives you a complete circle (or cycle). Again the important thing is that the angle (or one dimensionality of a location on a circle) does not distinguish between circles. Radius or differing centers are required for that distinction, just as location in an orthogonal dimension distinguishes between parallel lines on a plane.
That's the free style that delivers confusion into the works, unless conditions are exactly specified. See, dragging points and drawing objects on a n-D manifold is not the same thing.
Suppose that you want to draw a circle on a piece of paper - I mean a fairly precise circle. That requires a very good eye/hand
coordination. But if you are not sure, you can use a
co-ordinate that shows you exactly the required direction you move your hand, and the name of the co-ordinate is "template."
Any figure that requires one template to draw is a 1-dimensional object. But what if you want to draw a point? If you go to the store and ask for a template to draw a point, your request won't be quite understood. The creation of a point doesn't involve "dragging" your pencil, so there are no templates made for points. You don't need a eye/hand coordination for that task; you don't need a co-ordinate to guide you; no template, and therefore a point is a 0-dimensional object. But . . .
Suppose that you want to draw a precise line so it would appear on the screen of your graphing calculator. A template as an aid is not a possibility; the required co-ordination must be achieved by other means.
Suppose further that you have a simple graphing calculator equipped with two "templates" to guide your drawing attempts called "Cartesian co-ordinates." These co-ordinates look like a '+'; they comprise one horizontal line and one vertical line that intersect each other. (We all know that, but this may come handy to Doron who got a long distance to go to the basics, as he lives on the fringes of mathematics and needs to take the 1:30 flight from Organic Mathematics.) Both co-ordinates
must be defined and a convention would do: the horizontal line/co-ordinate is called " x-axis" and the vertical line/co-ordinate is called the "y-axis.
Now you need to ask the calculator to draw the object of your choice. The calculator anticipate you request by a prompt, such as
y1 =
Does the 'y' have something to do with the y-axis?
It does, except the y-coordinate has been renamed on "dependent variable." It stands to reason that the empty space after 'y1=' should be completed with something that relates to the 'x-axis' and to renaming the x to stand for "independent variable." So let's try this to see what happens . . .
y1 = x
Once you complete it, a new prompt may appear:
y1 = x
y2 =
If there is a second entry, lets use 2 and complete the prompt:
y1 = x
y2 = 2x
Now you notice a button that says "Graph." So you hit it and observe. The intuitive approach to complete the prompt was right, as you see two straight line, which intersect each other where the x and y axis do, to appear.
So you are done -- unless someone shows up being curious about the dimension of both lines, not to be confused with the length of the lines. (Say what?)
That person can help to answer the question marveling over the precision the lines were drawn. "Better than done with the help of a template."
How many "templates" were needed to draw one of the straight lines? And how was it drawn?
The x-independent variable refers to the points placed ON the x-coordinate; the y-dependent variable refers to the points placed ON the y-coordinate. In the case of the y2 line, the points were placed like this.
x: -5, -4, -3, -2,- 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
y2: -10, -8, -6, -4, -2, 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10
The different placement of the points on the y-coordinate was affected by the modification of the x-variable from x to 2x. The Cartesian co-ordinate system requires that the points drawn on the x-coordinate were equidistant. The spacing of the points drawn on the y-coordinate depends (hence y is the dependent variable) on the modification of the x-independent variable. In other words, the spacing of points on the y-coordinate is a function of the independent variable x. This is expressed as
y = f(x)
and so
y2 = 2x
f(x) = 2x
are equivalent expressions.
All what is needed for the intended straight line to appear is to draw two perpendicular lines from the x and y-coordinates where the placed points given by the function are. Where both perpendicular lines intersect each other is one of the points that the straight line y2=2x is made of.
But the question still remains unanswered. What is the dimension of these lines?
Since we used two "templates" -- a system of two co-ordinates were required by the way the calculator is defined to draw such two lines, each line is 2-dimensional object.
Now, the person starts to object by clicking on Wikipedia. No, a line is a 1-dimensional object. That's true when you take a ruler (one coordinate) and draw the line on the piece of paper. There is no mentioning in the Wikipedia of an geometric figure generated by a function that consists of one independent variable x that places points on the x-coordinate and one independent variable that places points on the y-coordinate.
Does it mean that the system of Cartesian coordinates prevents to draw a 1-dimensional line? That doesn't seem to be right, because
y1 = 2x (two variables x and y --> two co-ordinates x and y -- two-dimensional line)
y2 = 2 ( one variable y --> one co-ordinate y --> one dimensional line.)
The red line is drawn by function y2 = 2 (where 2 is a just a constant) and so that line is 1-dimensional. But there is a slight problem: The y-coordinate is the ruler -- it makes sure that the line stays horizontal, but
x: -5, -4, -3, -2,- 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
y: 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
Something had to move the pencil for the red line to appear, and that's the job the x-coordinate gets, otherwise there would be no intersection of [-5, 2] or [0, 2], for example.
But the implication dismisses the idea that a straight line drawn in the system of Cartesian co-ordinates is 2-dimensional when y=f(x)! That's because the hand that holds the pencil and moves the directon according to the ruler (the single dimension) is not considered a dimension. The hand happens to be the x co-ordinate.
But if there is the x-variable missing from the function y=2, then the hand is missing as well so the red line cannot be drawn, but we see it drawn -- the applet wouldn't draw it just like that.
Now what, Doron? You are the trickster, the OM-hardened analytic mind . . .
(y = 2) == ( y = 2 * x^0)
Well, my local-only reasoning couldn't figure out the non-local (something that I can't see and therefore consider) option. Now the hand is is present and the red line can be drawn.
The idea of dragging a point to create the first dimension is only good when it doesn't encounter an obstacle given the environment where the dragging is happening, like anything else which plagues definitions. The factor x^0 is a cop-out, but it may not be, coz
25 = 2*n^1 + 5*n^0 \where n = 10
and that's the concept of the decimal system.
The polar system of coordinates is the same as the Cartesian system except that one of the axis is replaced by a unit circle. So we draw the angular coordinate first
r1 = 1
and then we draw a tangent line to the coordinate/circle
r2 = tan(phi)/sin(phi)
Basically, you can set up any system of co-ordinates by dragging 0-dimensional point in any direction you wish. The problem is to figure the constant spacing of the-coordinate that happens to be a fancy curve. That's why there is no other curve coordinate used apart from the circle.
As far as the dimensionality of the "flower" is concerned . . .
Doron said it is 1-dimensional. I go by the number of different variables needed to write down the equation that defines and draws a geometric figure (and that includes the "hand".) If I'm wrong and see a result that looks different from what I intended, and the mistake lies in the dimensionality, then I adjust my definition of it.