The notion of maximum , which comes from the Latin word maxĭmus , can be used as an adjective or as a noun . The term refers to the most important, largest or intense of its species , or to the upper limit that an element can reach.
For example: «Winning the World Cup is the greatest achievement of any footballer» , «The price of the dollar reached its historical maximum in the country yesterday, since the US currency was trading at 45.20 pesos» , «I tried my hardest but I couldn't achieve the objective."
The idea of maximum can refer to a ceiling : there is nothing higher or higher. Let's take the case of an evaluation system that includes a score from 1 to 10 . This means that 10 is the maximum score that can be obtained. It is impossible, therefore, for someone to achieve 11 points .
If the maximum temperature recorded in a city is 49ºC , this mark was never exceeded in the locality in question. This maximum, in any case, could be exceeded, although so far that has never happened.
Suppose that, for a certain crime , the legislation provides for a sentence of between five and ten years in prison. In this framework, ten years of confinement is the maximum punishment or maximum penalty that can be applied to a convicted person.
As we can see in the previous examples, the concept of maximum does not always have an exact nature, but is often used with a certain degree of subjectivity . In fact, even when we believe we are objective when qualifying a noun with this adjective, we can make a mistake simply by not knowing the existence of a superior alternative.
When we say that a certain feat is "the ultimate achievement ," as in the sentence about the World Cup, it is still true at the time of the speech, but the speaker himself may discover some time later that there are other, greater goals. for him, that sooner or later he might consider it above this.
Something similar happens in a case like that of the person who considers that he "has tried his best": although he is convinced that he has dedicated all his energy to his goal, it is likely that he could have done something different to obtain better results, that is, , that if he had tried even a little more.
In an example such as the maximum temperature that has been recorded in a certain place, we can say that there is no doubt about the veracity of this statement, as long as it is possible to compare each and every one of the values from the first record to the most recent. In this case, we use mathematical comparison between numbers, a task in which we cannot make mistakes. However, if one or more of the recorded measurements was inaccurate, perhaps the statement is false simply because of this inadvertent error, even though the speaker is speaking with complete sincerity.
The greatest common divisor , on the other hand, refers to the largest integer that can divide two or more quantities without leaving a remainder. The greatest common factor of 40 and 60 , following this reasoning, is 20 .
There are different procedures that we can follow to find the greatest common factor between two or more numbers, although in certain very simple cases it is enough to think for a few seconds, especially for people with a certain degree of training in the field of mathematics.
On the other hand and in a complementary way, the least common multiple is the number closest to two or more after having multiplied them by others. For example, in the case of 5 , 8 and 10 , the least common multiple is 80 , which results from multiplying 5 x 16 , 8 x 10 and 10 x 8 .
Máximo , finally, is a masculine name : Máximo Paz , Máximo Gorki , Máximo Tajes , etc.