Inequality Notation: What Does it Mean?

[j.gal]

I was reading on inequalities and encountered a notation i haven't come across before.
an image of it is added to this post as an attachment.

 

[KrisOhn]

If you mean the dots, it is simply a different way of expressing multiplication.

so that is the same as

(a)(c) > (b)(c)

 

[j.gal]

one other question i have.
Does Pythagorean theorem still work if you use elliptical geometry?

 

[micromass]

No, the Pythagorean theorem is in fact equivalent to the parallel postulate. So it doesn't work in elliptical geometry.

There are however generalizations of Pythagoras which do hold in non-Euclidean geometry. More information can be found on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagorean_theorem