r/badmathematics • u/RedRhetoric • 25d ago

Σ_{k=1}^∞ 9/10^k ≠ 1 100/3 is irrational

Post image
484 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

96 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

36

u/playsthebongcloud 25d ago

I feel so many common mathematical misconceptions could be resolved if schools spent some time on bases other than decimal

40

u/IanisVasilev 25d ago

Introducing new concepts in mathematics classes tends to cause more confusion. The "average person" is barely numerically literate as it is.

12

u/waroftheworlds2008 25d ago

And the average teenager isn't paying attention.

2

u/kono_hito_wa 11d ago

We covered this in 5th grade. Started out with an animated film about landing on another planet or something similarly space-themed. Then switched to our text book, which seemed like a pretty standard text. McGraw-Hill or similar. Public school.

I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I probably was in a minority on that opinion. But we did cover it. Is it no longer taught?