.9 repeating = 1? Is our numerical system flawed?, page 9
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ATS Members have flagged this thread 5 times


reply posted on 2-4-2008 @ 02:47 PM by nataylor
reply to post by ALLis0NE



Infinity + 1 = Infinity. By it's very definition, infinity means there is no end. If it had an end, it would be finite.



reply posted on 2-4-2008 @ 03:28 PM by nataylor
reply to post by ALLis0NE



You fail to grasp that a fraction can be represented by an infinitely repeating decimal. .1... does indeed equal 1/9. If it doesn't, what is 1/9 - .1...? You're placing limits on infinity that it doesn't have, by it's very definition.

You say put the extra 9 at the end, middle or front. An infinitely repeating decimal doesn't have an end, and it doesn't have a front. Therefore it has no middle since the middle is some fraction between the front and the end.

[edit on 2-4-2008 by nataylor]


reply posted on 2-4-2008 @ 03:42 PM by nataylor
reply to post by ALLis0NE



I don't know about you, but I certainly don't have a calculator capable of displaying an infinite number of digits. A calculator is incapable of displaying .9... or using it in a calculation.



reply posted on 2-4-2008 @ 03:52 PM by nataylor
reply to post by ALLis0NE



There are plenty of software applications like Mathcad, MatLab, etc. that are capable of dealing with infinitely repeating decimals. No hand-held calculator is.

What specific number for you subtract from 1 to get .9...?

[edit on 2-4-2008 by nataylor]


reply posted on 2-4-2008 @ 04:06 PM by nataylor
reply to post by ALLis0NE



If you have to subtract, there MUST be a specific number. And you're right, I would tell you such a number doesn't exist. It must be a decimal, then some number of zeros, and then a 1. But because we have an infinite number of 9s we need to reach, we'd need an infinite number of 0s. Every time to add a zero between the decimal and the "ending" 1, you make the number smaller. When you reach an infinite number of 0s between the decimal and the 1, you've made the number infinitely small. An infinitely small number is equal to 0.


reply posted on 2-4-2008 @ 04:32 PM by nataylor
reply to post by ALLis0NE



.0...1 is actually incorrect notation. Since the zeros go on forever, you'll never reach an end on which to put a 1, so that's why there is no number between .9... and 1. There is simply no room to fit a number between the two, making them equal.


reply posted on 2-4-2008 @ 04:48 PM by ALLis0NE
Originally posted by nataylor
.0...1 is actually incorrect notation.


HUMANS INVENTED NOTATION.

There is no correct notation for this number. If it were to have notation, it would look like this...

.0...1


Originally posted by nataylor
Since the zeros go on forever, you'll never reach an end on which to put a 1, so that's why there is no number between .9... and 1. There is simply no room to fit a number between the two, making them equal.



This is where you are getting confused. You do not have to reach the end, before you put the 1 in it. Look at the notation...

.0...1

Imagine the ... is a never ending constant stream of 0's, and no matter what there is always a 1 at the end. Just imagine right now that something is adding 0's right in the middle where all the ... are forever "growing without bounds". Just add more and more and more zero's infinitly, and no matter what, you will always have the 1 on the end...

It's exactly like the circle anology I told you. Even though a circle has no beginning and no end, doesn't mean I can't add to it.

The number you are seeking is a never ending growing chain of zeros, and at the end of the infinite number of zeros is a 1.

Think of it like a prediciton of the future. Although you will never reach the end of infinite, if you ever do, there will be a 1 there..

It's simple logic..

What is 1 divided by infinity? Infinity.


THE FACT STILL STAND..

You have to SUBTRACT from 1 to get 0.9...



reply posted on 2-4-2008 @ 06:13 PM by 00Einstein
To ALLisONE

About that circle analogy. A circle is not infinite, only continuous. You can pick a point on a circle, go around the circle, and hit that same point again. Anything else is simply repetition. That's where your analogy falls apart. The more 9's you add to 0.9, not 0.999...., the more it defines it. However, you cannot count the 9's in 0.999..., since it is infinite, without limit or boundary. You can't add another nine on the end, just as much as you can't add a 1 on the end of 0.000..., because as far as you travel down the road of 0's, or 9's for the other example, the more there are, you will NEVER reach the end, as THERE IS NONE!!!

Now, about that whole "if a calculator can't do it, humans can't" business. Who do you think invented calculators? Take a long think...now guess. If you guessed anything other than humans, you are not smarter than a fifth grader. Humans invented the mathematical equations on which calculators operate. We are to calculators as Chuck Norris is to us: GOD!

A way to think about the first issue is a concept I came across in a college lecture: Hotel Infinity. In this scenario, a woman goes to a hotel seeking a room. However, in this hotel, there are an infinite amount of rooms, but all of them are full. Can the woman get a room? The answer is no, since all the rooms are full and YOU CAN"T CREATE ANY MORE ROOMS! THERE ARE ALREADY INFINITE ROOMS, a number you CANNOT surpass.

Also, you said "The number you are seeking is a never ending growing chain of zeros, and at the end of the infinite number of zeros is a 1." A number is static, it doesn't grow. And anyway, infinity can't grow, since for something to grow, it must first be defined, which infinity is not.

And finally, you said "You have to SUBTRACT from 1 to get 0.9... " NO, you DON'T, because they ARE EQUAL.

Oh, and stop giving us this "This is where your reality stops, and mine begins" crap. The only extra understanding of reality you have is that of a reality you created, or at least tried to create.

[edit on 4/2/08 by 00Einstein]
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