The person is deliberately or ignorantly confusing the use of fractions
(incomplete division of a numeric expression) and a mathematical formula
which has factors in both the numerator and denominator.
The expression below is the summation of a mathematical series. There is a
way to express the sum similar tot he formula below.
S 1/(2n+3); where n = -1, 0, 1, 2, 3,4, 5, etc.
Something isn't quite right, but it is close. When n is positive and odd,
the resultant fraction is subtracted and when even, it is added.
People who are fraction happy make a bigger deal about them then need be,
because most don't realise they are nothing more then incomplete division.
The decimal result is the final answer after the division is completed. I
guess the more mathematically innumerate someone is the more likely they
can't complete the simple division and thus find fractions useful.
Euric
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Davis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, 2004-06-14 14:29
Subject: [USMA:30114] Liebnitz and Pi.
> Can anyone on this mailing list confirm something for me? I had been
arguing the benefits of decimals and metric over fractions and imperial
measurements with someone on another website and Pi was mentioned.
>
> I realised that mathematicians over the years have tries to solve Pi by
feeding millions of decimal numbers into computers but to no avail.
>
> Then he mentioned Liebnitz who, apparently, according to him, had solved
Pi using fractions in the 1670's.
>
> What I would like to know is, is this actual fact or just another
misleading piece of propaganda put about by the anti-metric brigade?
>
> The equation he mentioned is below:
>
> he riddle had of course been solved by Leibnitz in the 1670s with a
continuous series of fractions:
>
>
> Pi = 4 * (1 - 1/3 + 1/5 - 1/7 + 1/9 - 1/11 + 1/13 - 1/15 + 1/17 - 1/19
etc...)
> or expressed in C to 2^24 this code is amazingly accurate.
>
>
> int x = 0;for (int i = 1; i < 16777216; i++) { x += 1/((4*i)-3);
x -= 1/((4*i)-1); }int pi = 4 * $x;cout pi;
>
>
