LESSWRONG
LW

1009
Lee2
0010
Message
Dialogue
Subscribe

Posts

Sorted by New

Wikitag Contributions

Comments

Sorted by
Newest
No posts to display.
No wikitag contributions to display.
How to Convince Me That 2 + 2 = 3
Lee218y00

It is possible in today's wonderful world of computers to have 2 + 2 = 3, and be both correct and understandable.

For Instance:

We have two integer variables x and y. Our equation is x + x and the outcome is placed in y (ie. x + x = y) We will view the value of y.

We take the value 1.7 and input it into x. Since x is an integer it will (in most cases) be rounded to 2. Therefore x = 2.

It is possible, however, for y to receive the value of 1.7 + 1.7 which, in today's accepted math, equals 3.4.

Placing 3.4 in an integer variable will set y to 3.

Therefore, you have 2 + 2 = 3.

BTW, this is why doing floating point math with integer variables on computers is a very bad idea......

Reply