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suck it, math nerds (mander.xyz)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[–] 7 points 2 years ago (2 children)

"Find" not "define"

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  • [–] 46 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Putting things in base 10 is also a definition. Digits aren't special.

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  • [–] 27 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

    Was going to say the same. Also π isn't infinite. Far from it. it's not even bigger than 4. It's representation in the decimal system is just so that it can't be written there with a finite number of decimal places. But you could just write "π". It's short, concise and exact.

    And by that definition 0.1 is also infinite... My computer can't write that with a finite amount of digits in base 2, which it uses internally.

    So... I'm crying salty tears, too.

    [Edit: And we don't even need transcendental numbers or other number systems. A third also doesn't have a representation. So again following the logic... you can divide a cake into 5 pieces, but never into 3?!]

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Can pi be expressed with a finite amount of digits in another number system?

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  • [–] 21 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    How about a pi based system, then pi is 1.

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I don't think there's any technical reason we can't count in base pi

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  • [–] -1 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Well we need an integer base number system....

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    "A base is usually a whole number bigger than 1, although non-integer bases are also mathematically possible."

    https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Base_(mathematics)

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  • [–] 0 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    Not sure where you're going with the decimal thing. Pi had infinite digits in any integer base because it's irrational.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago*

    I thought that was the joke in the comic? That we can't know numbers exactly that have an infinite decimal expansion. That'd be true for some rational numbers like a third, if you change the basis of the numeral system it'd be different numbers. And irrational numbers too if you have a integer base. But I'd argue how we write down a number isn't what determines exactness or 'infinity' by the words of the comic.

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  • [–] 17 points 2 years ago

    That doesnt make a difference. You can find the exact circumference of a circle, you just cant express it in the decimal system as a number (thats why we have a symbol for it so you can still express the exact value)

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