Pi or just repeating decimals in general

3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971... u get the picture. What's the deal with repeating decimals anyways? I mean I understand them, but I still hate them.

If anyone's taken 301, you learn how to prove .9 repeating is actually = 1. I was quite sceptical until I completely understood but repeating decimals are still uncalled for.

What's Pi? Pi is the circumference of a circle with diameter = 1. First of all, who figured that out? I just have trouble conceptualizing how a number that never ends can be real.

You have 2 friends and a block of cheese. If they hated you, it is perfectly feasible that a block of cheese could be split exactly in half and split between them so they each recieve 1/2 blocks of cheese. If they hearted you, it is perfectly feasible that the block of cheese could be split exactly 3 ways so each of you recieved 1/3 blocks of cheese. 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/3 = 1 ... obviously!!! what is 1/3 however??? It is

.333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333... etc.

What is .3333333333 + .3333333333 + .3333333333 = ? .99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999... how could

.9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999... ever reach 1? We lost some cheese somewhere... or did we? It's hard yet interesting/annoying to decide whether you are a 1=.99999999... fan or a disbeliever. I was once a disbeliever... however, even though I am a fan of 1=.999999999... now, I still hate the idea of repeating decimals! They screw with my head!

--Ehanna 17:29, 12 February 2009 (UTC)


The way that I look at repeating decimals is by looking at the meaning of "repeating." A decimal is only truly repeating if it does so an infinite number of times. Then I look at the meaning of "infinite" and, because infinite is a concept/theory/idea then I can accept the fact that even though .99999999999..... will always be some amount under 1 when viewed as a decimal, as it stretches to infinite the amount that it is under 1 "approaches" zero, so .9repeating = 1. In my honest opinion, we live in a world where close counts (unlike the popularly used phrase "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades). When a building is constructed it is done so accurately, but not to the nearest .00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001 of an inch.  :) --Msstaffo 11:53, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

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Prof. Math. Ohio State and Associate Dean
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Jeff McNeal