> Just started my first exercise: 2.1.1, and have a question about the
> solution to the squaring the number problem.
The question was, "Find out whether DrScheme has operations for
squaring a number..."
Did you find out if it has such an operation? How did you explore
DrScheme's capabilities? Searching the Internet doesn't really count,
because you've got this great tool (DrScheme) right at your
fingertips, and what you're really supposed to do it explore that
tool, including its help system, to figure out what kinds of things it
can do.
> Here's what I came up with: (define (square n) (* n n)) then you
> run (square n).
I certainly think your definition is correct. But what if I told you
that and meanwhile I turned out to be a complete ignoramus? How could
you check for yourself?
I'll put it another way. Someone comes to your front door holding a
black box. He says, "This black box squares numbers. Put a number in
one side, and the square of the number comes out the other side." How
would you check if he was telling the truth?