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 ...

Katie has a PhD in maths, specializing in the intersection of dynamical systems and number theory. She reports on topics from maths and history to society and animals. Katie has a PhD in maths, ...

Math lovers celebrate March 14 as Pi Day, in honor of the irrational number pi. Pi, or π, is defined as the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi is an irrational number, meaning ...

Math fans, celebrate. Today is Pi Day, a holiday that celebrates the world’s most famous irrational number. What are irrational numbers, you ask? As Penn State Berks professor Joni Queen describes ...

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 ...