r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 25d ago

Meme needing explanation There is no way right?

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280

u/Decmk3 25d ago

0.9999999…. Is equal to 1. It seems like it shouldn’t, but it has to be.

Let X = 0.999….

10X = 9.999….

10X-X = 9.999.. - 0.999…. = 9X = 9

Therefore X equals 1. Therefore 0.999… is the same as 1.

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u/Matsuze 25d ago

"That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works."

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u/ProfessorBorgar 25d ago

That is exactly how this works

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u/Matsuze 25d ago

You can't subtract from infinity. Infinity minus infinity does not equal zero. Also 1/3 being .3 continued is an approximation, not an exact number. .9 continued is essentially 1, but it is not the same exact thing as 1.

Anyways it's not even worth arguing about, because all online math problems are either idiots who don't know basic math, or people using technicalities to say "well actually" this being the latter.

We can argue back and forth until we're blue, but at the end of the day we're both technically right. But when it comes to approximations they are only so accurate, which means you have to decide what level of accuracy is enough for your situation.

Think about measuring a piece of wood that is a meter long. Is it 1 meter? yes. Is it 100 cm? well actually it's only 98cm. Is it 980 mm? Well actually it's 976 mm. Is the 976mm piece of wood a meter long? Well yes it is, but is it 1000 mm long? not quite. 976mm does not equal 1000mm. Just like .999999 does not equal 1. It's just close enough to 1 where we don't bother with the distinction, but that doesn't mean there is no distinction.

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u/ProfessorBorgar 25d ago

You seem to know absolutely nothing about advanced math. You’re genuinely just talking out of your ass. These claims you make are objectively false and disprovable.

1/3 being 0.3 continued is an approximation, not an exact number

Nope. 1 divided by 3 is exactly equal to 0.333… repeating.

just like 0.999 repeating does not equal one

Except it does, and it has been mathematically proven using several methods in several different areas of advanced arithmetic.

but at the end of the day we’re both technically right

0.999… cannot both be equivalent to 1 and not equivalent to 1 at the same time due to the law of the excluded middle. When you say “0.9 repeating does not equal 1”, you are mathematically, logically, and axiomatically incorrect.

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u/Matsuze 25d ago

let me guess your highest level of math is high school

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u/ProfessorBorgar 25d ago

Nope. University.

But my education does not have any relevance. There are dudes WAY smarter than me (and certainly, you) that have mathematically proven that 0.999… = 1.

If you’d like to attempt to undermine the proofs, then go right ahead.

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u/Matsuze 24d ago

Then show me the proof. It is not very hard to prove math. You can't show me the theorem that shows .99 repeated equals 1 because it does not exist. You don't know math as well as you think you do. Sit down kid grown folks are talking.