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Discrete
The word
discrete
comes from the
latin
word
discretus
which means
separate
. It is used with different meanings in different contexts:
In
perception
a discrete entity is something that can be percepted individually and not as connected to, or part of something else.
In
mathematics
a discrete
set
is a
countable
or
countably infinite
, with a
cardinality
less than or equal to
<math>\aleph_0</math>
. (Including
integers
.) Mathematical study of discrete sets is the area of inquiry for
discrete mathematics
, but also important for
combinatorics
,
probability theory
and
statistical theory
.
(It is not the same thing as
discreet[?]
.)
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