ST Alpha - "but .999...=1 sure seems like rounding. It seems like as a practical matter to make math work, its users have declared that one thing equals another" (Reading a Post)

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In response to "Jax, we don't round." by Reagen

but .999...=1 sure seems like rounding. It seems like as a practical matter to make math work, its users have declared that one thing equals another

Posted by Max Mar 5 '10, 13:18

even in the face of the truth.

Responses:

it's the fact that you don't stop that makes it = 1 and makes it not rounding. -- nm - Reagen Mar 5, 13:23 31
- at some pont it has to stop - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 13:25 30
  - I think you may be missing something about the concept of infinity. -- nm - mara Mar 5, 13:26 8
    - i doubt that ! -- nm - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 13:31 6
      - "At some point, infinity has to stop" is what it sounded like you were saying. -- nm - mara Mar 5, 13:32 5
        
        not infinity but the way we represent infinity :) - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 13:33 4
        
        The way we, humans, represent infinity in our limited physical capabilities is not important in mathematics -- nm - Guigue Mar 5, 13:42 3
        
        no??? ask Reagan about that - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 13:44 2
        
        We don't need to calculate it, we (human beings) invented the damn thing! And we decided that 0.999... is the same as 1 -- nm - Guigue Mar 5, 13:48 1
        
        thats my point exactly - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 14:10
    - Exactly. People are trying to express infinity in a way they can physically understand - Guigue Mar 5, 13:29
  - that's what ... is for, to save us time. - Reagen Mar 5, 13:26 20
    - exactly - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 13:30 18
      - You're right that it's a tool, and the *...* is a tool used to write 1/3 for instance in decimal number - Guigue Mar 5, 13:34 7
        
        so 1.333... + 1.333... +1.333... is 4? - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 13:37 6
        
        Yes to your subject line, and "wtf?" to your IM -- nm - Guigue Mar 5, 13:38 5
        
        heh 3.999... -- nm - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 13:39 4
        
        well, 3.9999..... = 4, so... -- nm - Reagen Mar 5, 13:40 3
        
        circular logic - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 13:43 2
        
        no, I'm saying that the two things you posted (once you had it correct) were identical. -- nm - Reagen Mar 5, 13:45 1
        
        Which we've been saying all along - Guigue Mar 5, 13:47
      - It's not about precision, or stopping to save us time. Infinity means you don't stop, ever. - Reagen Mar 5, 13:32 9
        
        but since you CAN write an infinite number of "3" you would ever get to the 2nd factor of any calculation involving an infinite number - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 13:36 8
        
        I assume you mean "can't" but here's the thing - Reagen Mar 5, 13:39 2
        
        how do you know when you have not calculated it? - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 13:42 1
        
        I'm going to wait for the English translation on this one. -- nm - Reagen Mar 5, 13:43
        
        Uh, you CAN'T write an infinite number of 3s -- nm - Guigue Mar 5, 13:37 4
        
        exactly - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 13:38 2
        
        I give up, it's impossible to change your mind - Guigue Mar 5, 13:40 1
        
        oh no i never said that - Danedukenuuk Mar 5, 14:11
        
        yes he can - don't try and stop him! -- nm - Beryllium Mar 5, 13:38
    - or maybe we could just help JD find out what the post limit is. -- nm - The Exploding Dano Mar 5, 13:28
That .9 keeps trying, all the way out to infinity, to be 1. It can't ever be *exactly* 1.But for all practical purposes it is indistinguishable from 1 -- nm - TWuG Mar 5, 13:20 2
- I totally get that; but I will never say they're equal. -- nm - b. Mar 5, 13:35 1
  - Exactly. I think mathematicians are afraid to say it hurts their heads to think about infinity so the find a way of making infinity end. - TWuG Mar 5, 13:42
But the "users" (mathematicians) are the one who invented the *...*, they get to choose what it means -- nm - Guigue Mar 5, 13:20

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but .999...=1 sure seems like rounding. It seems like as a practical matter to make math work, its users have declared that one thing equals another

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