I am wrong in thinking the circumference or the diameter of a circle has to be rational?

  • Zoboomafoo@slrpnk.net
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    9 months ago

    It’s not that it can be measured forever, it’s just that it refuses to match up with any line on the ruler.

    For a line of length pi: it’s somewhere between 3 or 4, so you get a ruler and figure out it’s 3.1ish, so you get a better ruler and you get 3.14ish. get the best ruler in existence and you get 3.14159265…ish

    • Klear@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      …and when you go deep enough you suddenly lose the line in a jumble of vibrating particles or even wose quantum foam, realising the length of the line no longer makes sense as a concept and that there are limits to precision measurements in the physical world.