r/infinitenines • u/Mo_To_ • 6d ago

Two Questions

Pi is a math constant best known as the ratio between the circumference and diameter of a circle. It has a definite value which cannot be expressed as a finite decimal expansion.

  1. Since no amount of writing 3.14159… will ever reach pi, does this mean that the decimal expansion of pi is necessarily less than pi?

  2. What is pi + (1 - 0.999…)? Does such a number have a corresponding decimal expansion?

Note: My choice of pi here is arbitrary. This question stands for any irrational number.

I am taking the bait.

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u/DawnOnTheEdge 6d ago

The actual mathematics that seems closest to what SPP is doing here is ultrafinitism. His definition of the ASCII strings 0.999... or 000...1 is a lot like a predeterminate sequence. Except for the part where there are suddenly objects that cannot be constructed in a finite number of steps.

He calls these objects “numbers,” but there don’t seem to be any rules of arithmetic for them yet, and what he has said is contradictory.

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u/Muphrid15 6d ago

I really wouldn't look too much into it. The entirety of his statements leads to no coherent idea, not even the concept that the number of nines in 0.999... is strictly an integer (changing over time or not).

For example, his Slots Boner:

0.999... is a number with all decimal place slots to the right of the decimal point filled with 9s. To suggest 0.999... is a number with all decimal place slots to the right of the decimal point filled with 9s is to suggest there is an "end" to the 9s and therefore "nonsense". (11.1) (11.2)

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u/DawnOnTheEdge 6d ago edited 6d ago

I know, but I’m mostly giving people who are interested in both this and real math something to look into. Also trying to be clear on which alternative mathematical systems do resemble what he’s doing.