• ArchAengelus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    9 months ago

    In this context, yes, because of the cancellation on the fractions when you recover.

    1/3 x 3 = 1

    I would say without the context, there is an infinitesimal difference. The approximation solution above essentially ignores the problem which is more of a functional flaw in base 10 than a real number theory issue

    • Shampiss@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      9 months ago

      The context doesn’t make a difference

      In base 10 --> 1/3 is 0.333…

      In base 12 --> 1/3 is 0.4

      But they’re both the same number.

      Base 10 simply is not capable of displaying it in a concise format. We could say that this is a notation issue. No notation is perfect. Base 10 has some confusing implications

      • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        9 months ago

        They’re different numbers. Base 10 isn’t perfect and can’t do everything just right, so you end up with irrational numbers that go on forever, sometimes.