Article View: comp.theory
Article #1686Re: Real Numbers vs. Rational Numbers?
From: Mark
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1992 18:31
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1992 18:31
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1336 bytes
In article <1992Dec17.142150.7932@tom.rz.uni-passau.de> boerncke@kirk.fmi.uni-passau.de (Frank-Roland Boernke) writes: >How is it possible to work with irrationals in a table? Of course you cannot store >them digit by digit as there is an infinite number. But if you choose a finite >representation e.g. two letters P and I for the sequence 3.141592654... how can >you calculate say PI * PI? Calculate PI * PI. Answer: PI*PI. Since "PI*PI" is a finite representation of PI * PI from which one can algorithmically computer any of its digits in finite time, this counts as a valid answer. If you don't consider this valid, then neither will you consider this valid: Calculate: 2 / 5 Answer: 2/5. So then on that account, computers can't even work with fractions.
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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!markh From: markh@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Mark) Newsgroups: comp.theory Subject: Re: Real Numbers vs. Rational Numbers? Date: 26 Dec 1992 18:31:27 GMT Organization: Computing Services Division, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Lines: 19 Distribution: inet Message-ID: <1hi8dvINN5l2@uwm.edu> References: <1992Dec16.095412.19570@tom.rz.uni-passau.de> <1992Dec16.222628.27208@ringer.cs.utsa.edu> <1992Dec17.142150.7932@tom.rz.uni-passau.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.7.4