Re: Bug 1+4/10
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg120141] Re: Bug 1+4/10
- From: "Oleksandr Rasputinov" <oleksandr_rasputinov at hmamail.com>
- Date: Sat, 9 Jul 2011 07:34:15 -0400 (EDT)
- References: <iv1acv$sk7$1@smc.vnet.net> <iv456e$eop$1@smc.vnet.net>
On Fri, 08 Jul 2011 09:52:54 +0100, slawek <human at site.pl> wrote: > U=BFytkownik "Oleksandr Rasputinov" napisa=B3 w wiadomo=B6ci grup > dyskusyjnych:iv456e$eop$1 at smc.vnet.net... > >> Proper treatment of inexact numbers requires at least some care and > > There is no "inexact numbers". There are only inexact computations and= /or > measurements. > > 3.14 is an approximation of pi, but it is exactly 3+1/10+4/100 > In this context, "inexact number" means a distribution, the exact number being the expectation value of this distribution. In the case of finite-precision inexact numbers we have uniform distributions over finite fields; the true expectation values are then the means, whose values are however not necessarily exactly representable in such fields. I trust that you understand these concepts, so let us not enter into a futile debate over nomenclature or epistemology.