Brian Beesley wrote: > On Wednesday 05 March 2008 22:31, David kerber wrote: > >> If it doesn't correspond to the real number, then it's inexact. Take >> the calculation 7 divided by 10. The correct answer is 0.7 (seven >> tenths). If you try this in a binary computer, you do not get the >> correct answer; you get the the closest number that floating-point >> numbers can come to 0.7, but it is not exactly 0.7, and therefore is >> inexact, or inaccurate if you prefer that term. >> > > No - it's exact, but inaccurate. Just as the number 0.333333333 is exact, but > inaccurate if it's the result of dividing 1 by 3. > It is also an inexact representation of one-third. Oh well; we all know what's going on and how it works, whether or not we agree on the english descriptions of what's happening, so I'm not going to argue the semantics of it any more. This is just one of many cases where mathematics makes perfect sense until you try to describe it in English!
Cheers! D _______________________________________________ Prime mailing list [email protected] http://hogranch.com/mailman/listinfo/prime
