Actually, the statement that .3 repeating == 1/3 is not *entirely* correct. The more you repeat the 3, the closer it gets to actually being 1/3, but it is NEVER EXACTLY 1/3. Try this: divide 9 by 3. The answer is 3. Now multiply 9 by .3. You get 2.7. Multiply by .33 and you get 2.97. Keep adding 3s and you keep adding 9s in the product. What you never get, however, is 3. It may get so close to 3 as to make a distinction meaningless (depending on what you're doing), but 2.99...7 != 3. For the same reason, .33... != 1/3. Apply that to .99... and you get very close to 1, but never quite there. So I chalk the whole thing up to a floating point rounding error. =-)

~Cybercosis

nemo accipere quod non merere

In reply to Re: Re: .999999... == 1? (Somewhat OT) by Cybercosis
in thread .999999... == 1? (Somewhat OT) by Sherlock

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