- #1
musicgold
- 304
- 19
I read the story of Hippasus's proof which showed ## \sqrt {2} ## is neither a natural number nor a ratio of natural numbers and how he was drowned by the Pythagoreans for his impiety.
My question is as the Greeks did not know about decimals (until a few centuries later), how did they deal with irrational numbers when they presented themselves in their calculations and measurements.
How do you deal with a quantity that can't be represented using existing methods? Did they just drop those calculations or approximate the number?
Thanks
My question is as the Greeks did not know about decimals (until a few centuries later), how did they deal with irrational numbers when they presented themselves in their calculations and measurements.
How do you deal with a quantity that can't be represented using existing methods? Did they just drop those calculations or approximate the number?
Thanks