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[-] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 24 points 2 weeks ago

Yes, we’ve proven that pi is an irrational number and therefore has infinitely many digits.

if you picked one digit as the “last” one to start with, then you could express it as an integer faction and it wouldn’t be irrational. So that can’t happen.

You can express pi in irrational bases like base pi or tau, and then you have a finite number of digits (1), but that’s just putting a trench coat on top of pi and pretending it’s finite length so you can get into the movies. I don’t even know what you’d call those digits. But they wouldn’t let pi into the airport or courthouse like that.

[-] southsamurai@sh.itjust.works 20 points 2 weeks ago
[-] digitalFatteh@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

Mmmmmmm ip.

[-] NightFantom@slrpnk.net 14 points 2 weeks ago

It's also impossible to recite pi forwards (entirely).

[-] sopularity_fax@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago

But i mean to even begin to backwards is far less trivial

[-] NightFantom@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 weeks ago

True, but ending is a lot simpler than forwards 🙃

[-] calliope@retrolemmy.com 2 points 2 weeks ago

Wouldn’t it be equally nontrivial?

Infinite complexity is still infinite complexity. Doesn’t matter the direction.

[-] sopularity_fax@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Pi has one end: 3(.14...) (trivial) "Starting at the end of pi": (non-trivial)

[-] calliope@retrolemmy.com 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The complexity doesn’t decrease either direction but ok! It’s still infinite.

[-] Cruxifux@feddit.nl 5 points 2 weeks ago

Being that it’s an irrational number it’s infinite, and to properly recite something backwards you’d have to start with the end which is impossible. But if you start from somewhere in the middle of the number and recite it backwards that would be possible, eg. 41.3. Depends on how much of a stickler you want to be about the rules of where you’re allowed to start I guess for your definition of impossible.

[-] TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 weeks ago

Zero followed by a one in base 𝛑.

[-] melsaskca@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

"The train tracks all run parallel but they'll all meet up one day."

[-] jaselle@lemmy.ca 2 points 2 weeks ago

This is true of some rational numbers as well. Take 1/7 for instance.

[-] Nemo@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

eerht tniop eno ruof eno evif enin owt xis...

and so on

this post was submitted on 14 Jan 2026
15 points (85.7% liked)

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