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Date:      Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:01:02 +0100
From:      Julian Fagir <gnrp@physik.tu-berlin.de>
To:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: how to generate pi in c
Message-ID:  <20101110060102.3509f1ae@eselhitler>
In-Reply-To: <20101108182717.M66572@sola.nimnet.asn.au>
References:  <20101106120033.CB14610656D7@hub.freebsd.org> <20101108182717.M66572@sola.nimnet.asn.au>

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Hi,

just to get more off-topic... ;-)

On Mon, 8 Nov 2010 20:01:19 +1100 (EST)
Ian Smith <smithi@nimnet.asn.au> wrote:
> And while a square enclosing a circle, it's hardly squaring the circle:=20
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squaring_the_circle .. but an interesting=20
> read nonetheless for unrequited seekers of pi-foo :)

In our case, it is as possible/exact as computing pi.
When computing pi, you resolve to the same problem as you have when
'squaring' a circle: Transcendental numbers over the given field.

Just having rational numbers, you can just approximate pi, and as a human or
computer, one doesn't have the power to imagine pi or give it an exact valu=
e.
And I don't know, but doubt there's someone who can imagine anything else t=
han
rational or at least over Q algebraic numbers.

The same with the squared circle: You can approximate it, but over the the
field of the constructible numbers, the length is transcendental, so you
cannot exactly draw it without further assumptions.


Regards, Julian

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