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  #1 (permalink)  
Old 26-August-2005, 12:48 AM
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Default Me and a friend are having a discussion, math help needed.

It's very simple: does 0.999 repeating forever = 1?

I've had a few discussions about it, and we decided that it was the same as 1. He gave me some pretty good arguments, but we were kinda drunk at the moment...

But I was wondering if anyone here could give me a good answer. I've read somewhere that our classic math simply breaks down on issues like this, but that was "some" site on the net, and we all know the net is always correct...
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Old 26-August-2005, 12:53 AM
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Default Re: Me and a friend are having a discussion, math help neede

Quote:
Originally Posted by FrostByte
It's very simple: does 0.999 repeating forever = 1?
Stop.

Right.

There.

See topic Do you think 0.9999999~ =1 , that is infinite 9s.
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0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 ...
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Old 26-August-2005, 05:55 AM
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Oh boy...

We need to add to the FAQ to NEVER AGAIN ask that question. #-o
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Old 26-August-2005, 05:56 AM
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A friend and I are having a discussion, grammar help needed.
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Old 26-August-2005, 11:23 AM
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Ah yes, our one thread with the infinitely expanding answers.

Short answer: they are the same.

Long answer (and I mean _long_) can be found by following 01101001's link.
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Old 26-August-2005, 12:44 PM
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A friend and I are having a discussion, grammar help needed.

English is not my first language. I'm sorry if these errors bother you.

And yes, I should have used the search button... Lesson learned 8)
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Old 26-August-2005, 01:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FrostByte
A friend and I are having a discussion, grammar help needed.

English is not my first language. I'm sorry if these errors bother you.

And yes, I should have used the search button... Lesson learned 8)
Don't feel bad FrostByte, a lot of native speakers of English say "Me and A Friend". :-?
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Old 26-August-2005, 03:57 PM
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Seeing this thread is the best laugh I had so far this morning.
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Old 26-August-2005, 04:58 PM
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wouldn't 0.999~ be a number that infinitely approaches 1?

there are infinite numbers between any two numbers. 0.999~ while technically not equaling 1, it would be acceptable as 1 as soon as it exceeded the margin of error for the tolerances required.

To me this is like the thought experiement that it is impossible to travel from point A to point B.
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Old 26-August-2005, 05:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skrap1r0n
wouldn't 0.999~ be a number that infinitely approaches 1?
I suggest you read the (first few pages of) the original thread. There are numerous proofs. If you still have doubts, ask yourself: what number is between 0.99... and 1? If you can't provide an answer, then the definition of the real numbers forces you to accept that the two are equal.

On the other hand, if the two numbers are unequal, you should be able to specify an infinite number of numbers between the two!

Good luck... :wink:
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Old 26-August-2005, 05:32 PM
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Default Re: Me and a friend are having a discussion, math help neede

Quote:
Originally Posted by 01101001
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrostByte
It's very simple: does 0.999 repeating forever = 1?
Stop.

Right.

There.

See topic Do you think 0.9999999~ =1 , that is infinite 9s.
Ugh, people argued for 38 pages about this? And 40% of the people here got the answer wrong (I just cast my vote). What surprises me is not that so many didn't know (it may be, after all, a fairly subtle point for the non-mathematically inclined), but the woowoo-like contempt some of the inequality camp have for anyone who understands mathematics.

The well-known proof (due to Cantor, I think?) of the non-countability of the real numbers doesn't work in base-2 due to this issue. (The result still holds, but one must modify the proof.)
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Old 26-August-2005, 05:36 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Swift
Don't feel bad FrostByte, a lot of native speakers of English say "Me and A Friend". :-?
As an example, There was a discussion between me and a friend
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Old 26-August-2005, 05:52 PM
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4 or 5 threads, at least one of them locked, a couple of regulars banned, and here we go again. I'm tempted to PM the BA, asking to have this thread locked, just to prevent the inevitable bannings that will certainly occur if it isn't locked.
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Old 26-August-2005, 06:29 PM
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yes, but practically everyone posting in it is posting to say, "don't post about this!" it's like the person who appeared in ATM asking about Solid Solar Surface guy about a week after that particular debacle.
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Old 26-August-2005, 07:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by montebianco
Quote:
Originally Posted by Swift
Don't feel bad FrostByte, a lot of native speakers of English say "Me and A Friend". :-?
As an example, There was a discussion between me and a friend
That's still bad grammar, you know.

There was a discussion between a friend and me.

There you go.

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Old 26-August-2005, 07:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeanF
Quote:
Originally Posted by montebianco
Quote:
Originally Posted by Swift
Don't feel bad FrostByte, a lot of native speakers of English say "Me and A Friend". :-?
As an example, There was a discussion between me and a friend
That's still bad grammar, you know.

There was a discussion between a friend and me.

There you go.

Yes, I know, but the case is correct. It was the best I could do without changing the actual phrase "me and a friend"
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Old 26-August-2005, 10:22 PM
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I think the real question that we should be answering is: Where do all of those missing socks go?
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Old 27-August-2005, 04:19 AM
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Is ther 1 missing sock? Or only 0.99..... missing sock?

Frostbyte, I was just poking gentle fun. I am quite sure your English is far better then my Flemish. I had no idea your were not a native English speaker until now. I probably should have used a semicolon or made it two sentences. I'm gonna go split some more infinitives, winter is coming...
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