Quote:
Originally Posted by wdfifteen
I was asking about 1/3 = .3333 .....
I studied engineering, not goofy math problems.
.333 .... is a repeating decimal approximation of 1/3. Every time you use it in a calculation you introduce a rounding error, which you MUST be aware of if you are designing something (like a bridge). You illustrated this in your post when you got the answer 1=.999 ....
It is better to use the rational relationship as much as possible because it is accurate and the decimal is an approximation.
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Actually, per the rules of convergence 0.333...repeating equals exactly 1/3. It's only an approximation when you intentionally use less than an infinite number of threes. Yes, I realize (as an engineer myself) that in the real world that's exactly what you have to do. But we're talking about math here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by romad
There is no indications that someone is claiming the final solution. In fact its very clear across the INTERNET that this is not solvable. With out knowing the intent of the equation there is no way of proving the equation.
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Exactly. Actually this is a very precise scientific experiment. Except the experiment isn't a math equation, it's sociology. "Let's create an intentionally ambiguous equation and see how people interact when they inevitably disagree about the answer."