"The square root of two" is a way to describe a formula. The formula is a construction that generates outputs. The outputs differ depending on how many iterations you run.
There is no "converging" on a quantity. The outputs just gain decimals.
Post by twetch#3375
each step of the computation results in a number with a finite representation that is closer to the quantity than the previous one. There is no positive distance that we don't get closer to eventually.
What the chain says
- Block
- 662 164
- Time
- 2020-11-20T21:41:18Z
- Signer
- 13bJsMyjiNF21qYTLK5tZizwEovpT6DNeu
- App
- twetch
- Type
- post
- Content type
- text/plain
- Name in tx
- twetch#3375
Fields the transaction did not carry are omitted. Open the payload to see the bytes as stored.
Signed by
13bJsMyjiNF21qYTLK5tZizwEovpT6DNeu VerifiedReplies (16)
There is no reason to posit "getting closer to a quantity."
Imagine we're talking about English sentences. I can give you a formula to construct a sentence. After each iteration, it contains more words. That doesn't imply it's "approaching" anything.
The greeks knew that pi phi ... are incommensurable magnitudes and not numbers. There is always another digit and it goes on indefinitely so you are not really getting close to anything.
Sentences aren't associated with quantities, so that's an invalid analogy.
Sentences can be associated with quantities, sure. Words are just symbols with a different form.
"If you take three apples and add them to three apples, you'll have a total of six apples." That concept can be expressed, "3a + 3a = 6a".
Mathematical language just uses a different set of symbols. Like sentences, some constructions are valid and some are invalid.
I can write down the symbols "15/0" and say the words "fifteen divided by zero." Doesn't mean that refers to any real quantity.
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