4 ms·
> 0.1 just isn't an actual number. A finitist computer scientists only accepts those numbers as real that can be expressed exactly in finite base-two floating
by Sharlin 8mo ago
> 0.1 just isn't an actual number.
A finitist computer scientists only accepts those numbers as real that can be expressed exactly in finite base-two floating point?
- tux3 8mo ago0.1 is of course a real number, but let A \in R the set of actual numbers... (/s)
- JohnKemeny 8mo agoShould be \subset.
- jmalicki 8mo ago\infty is an actual number not in R
- Sharlin 8mo agoThe funny thing is, according to infinitists real numbers are not real. But I do like the concept of the set of actual numbers.
- hnfong 8mo agoI don't know whether I'm an infinitist, but I personally think "real numbers" is the most ingenious marketing term created by mathematicians...
- 1718627440 8mo agoThat's essentially what you already do for integer arithmetic.
- SideQuark 8mo agoYes. A computer scientist should know how numbers are represented and not expect non-representable numbers in that format to be representable. 0.1 is just as non-representable in floating point as is pi as is 100^100 in a 32 bit integer. Terminating dyadic rationals (up to limits based on float size) are the representable values.
- Sharlin 7mo agoI’m not sure if you got my joke but I referred to the mathematical philosophy, finitism.