When my students grow too dependent on their calculators, I ask them to find a number that, when multiplied by itself, gives them 2. Students quickly see that since 1² = 1 and 2² = 4, the answer has ...

Most people rarely deal with irrational numbers—it would be, well, irrational, as they run on forever, and representing them accurately requires an infinite amount of space. But irrational constants ...

The golden ratio is an almost mythical number that you may have heard of in various areas of architecture or design. For example, many claim the ancient Greek Parthenon has numerous examples of the ...

Today is Mar. 14, or “Pi Day” (really, π Day) when mathletes and numberphiles celebrate the mathematical constant π, which is equal to 3.141592653…It’s a particularly special Pi Day because the year ...

Mathematics students often encounter confusion when distinguishing between rational and irrational numbers. However, mastering this fundamental concept becomes straightforward once you understand the ...

Why do irrational numbers exist? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Alon Amit, PhD ...

The ancient Greeks wondered when “irrational” numbers can be approximated by fractions. By proving the longstanding Duffin-Schaeffer conjecture, two mathematicians have provided a complete answer. The ...

Imagine being asked to pick a number from 1 to 10. You are quite likely to pick a whole number; I have never seen someone do otherwise. But you could also pick the number pi, whose decimal expansion ...

Kevin Lieber of Vsauce2 examines how the discovery of irrational numbers led to ancient Greek fatalities.