tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560015040600268361.post6555485256948045974..comments2023-08-19T11:44:42.724-04:00Comments on All In The Name of Science: piKelly Studebakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16436115638841628063noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560015040600268361.post-75445976138295882962009-03-01T12:04:00.000-05:002009-03-01T12:04:00.000-05:00Shon, Thank you for your comment. I agree with y...Shon, Thank you for your comment. I agree with you in your questioning; it makes no sense to me that a number might not end. As I stated when I said "Well it's only strange that a number might not end because... a number is a measurement of something..." It's a thought provoking conundrum indeed. <BR/><BR/>As I do not know, I am open to any route to understanding such as Charles mentioning of numerical limitations... But, I still feel that the number either ends at some figure, or is not definitive and therefor cannot be pinned down to a measurement.<BR/><BR/>KASAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560015040600268361.post-18508140292220870212009-03-01T11:16:00.000-05:002009-03-01T11:16:00.000-05:00I'm having a hard time agreeing even that the prob...I'm having a hard time agreeing even that the problem is with our representation of numbers. Even if we represent numbers in binary, or Roman numerals, or I suspect any other way you could think of, pi would still be endless.<BR/><BR/>What, afterall, is wrong with how we have invented numbers in the first place that pi should turn out this way?Shonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18432721934181937253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560015040600268361.post-50595456205667997212009-02-23T20:33:00.000-05:002009-02-23T20:33:00.000-05:00Charles, thank you for your comment. I researched...Charles, thank you for your comment. I researched Pythagoreans after your mentioning along with other known irrationals - like e and the square root of 2. I still can't grasp the lack of a final figure, but appreciate the idea that it is a numerical limitation more than a limitation of reality. Presuming that numbers are a creation of humanity in order to measure. I was leaning towards the idea that a lack of definitive calculation could be something of a representation of something other than a measurement; like energy or a universal constant. Math eludes me at this stage in my learning though and is something I am just recently growing in affiliation to.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6560015040600268361.post-92060900966813774052009-02-23T04:34:00.000-05:002009-02-23T04:34:00.000-05:00Well, it's only strange that a number might not en...<I>Well, it's only strange that a number might not end because.. a number is a measurement of something. Quite obviously, a number cannot be a representation, if it is incomplete.</I><BR/><BR/>But π <I>does</I> measure something - the circumference of a circle of radius 1/2 (in whatever units you want).<BR/><BR/>Such things are called "irrational" numbers - not because they are contrary to reason, but because they aren't <I>ratios</I> of two integers.<BR/><BR/>Don't be alarmed with numbers that "don't end". The length of the diagonal of a square of side 1 (any units) is √2 - and that "doesn't end" either.<BR/><BR/>This really bothered the Pythagoreans about 2500 years ago, too. But it turns out to be a problem with how we represent numbers, not with the numbers themselves.Charles Daneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04583013089740378307noreply@blogger.com