Is .2 irrational?

[KJBSF%SLACVM.BITNET at wiscvm.wisc.edu]

Date: 14 January 1987, 09:28:14 PST
From: Kevin J. Burnett          x3330                <KJBSF at SLACVM>
To:   <INFO-C at BRL-SMOKE.ARPA>
Subject: Re: Re: Is .2 irrational?

<ron at BRL-SEM.ARPA> writes:
>>  floating point format could
>> be designed which allowed exact representation of all decimal fractions,
>> up to some number of places precision.
>
>Gee, how do you deal with 1/3?  I'm not sure how I do that even on
>a decimal computer.  Perhaps you meant that can handle an exact represntation
>of all fractions of the form INTEGER/(Power of 10)
I would think that 'up to some number of places precision' should have meant
something to you.  The phrase would suggest to me that the author you are
quoting meant that, say, up to 5 decimal places, 1/3 = .33333 .