No, the fact that a number is infinite and non-repeating doesn't mean that and since in order to disprove something you need only one example here it is: 0.1101001000100001000001... this is a number that goes 1 and then x times 0 with x incrementing. It is infinite and non-repeating, yet doesn't contain a single 2.
this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2024
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no. it merely being infinitely non-repeating is insufficient to say that it contains any particular finite string.
for instance, write out pi in base 2, and reinterpret as base 10.
11.0010010000111111011010101000100010000101...
it is infinitely non-repeating, but nowhere will you find a 2.
i've often heard it said that pi, in particular, does contain any finite sequence of digits, but i haven't seen a proof of that myself, and if it did exist, it would have to depend on more than its irrationality.
It does contain a 2 though? Binary ‘10’ is 2, which this sequence contains?
They also say "and reinterpret in base 10". I.e. interpret the base 2 number as a base 10 number (which could theoretically contain 2,3,4,etc). So 10 in that number represents decimal 10 and not binary 10
I don’t think the example given above is an apples-to-apples comparison though. This new example of “an infinite non-repeating string” is actually “an infinite non-repeating string of only 0s and 1s”. Of course it’s not going to contain a “2”, just like pi doesn’t contain a “Y”. Wouldn’t a more appropriate reframing of the original question to go with this new example be “would any finite string consisting of only 0s and 1s be present in it?”
They just proved that "X is irrational and non-repeating digits -> can find any sequence in X", as the original question implied, is false. Maybe pi does in fact contain any sequence, but that wouldn't be because of its irrationality or the fact that it's non-repeating, it would be some other property
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Like the other commenter said its meant to be interpreted in base10.
You could also just take 0.01001100011100001111.... as an example
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It's almost sure to be the case, but nobody has managed to prove it yet.
Simply being infinite and non-repeating doesn't guarantee that all finite sequences will appear. For example, you could have an infinite non-repeating number that doesn't have any 9s in it. But, as far as numbers go, exceptions like that are very rare, and in almost all (infinite, non-repeating) numbers you'll have all finite sequences appearing.
Exceptions are infinite. Is that rare?
Rare in this context is a question of density. There are infinitely many integers within the real numbers, for example, but there are far more non-integers than integers. So integers are more rare within the real.
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A number for which that is true is called a normal number. It’s proven that almost all real numbers are normal, but it’s very difficult to prove that any particular number is normal. It hasn’t yet been proved that π is normal, though it’s generally assumed to be.
I love the idea (and it's definitely true) that there are irrational numbers which, when written in a suitable base, contain the sequence of characters, "This number is provably normal" and are simultaneously not normal.
Technically to meet OPs criteria it needs only be a rich number in base 10, not necessarily a normal one. Although being normal would certainly be sufficient
https://github.com/philipl/pifs
πfs is a revolutionary new file system that, instead of wasting space storing your data on your hard drive, stores your data in π! You'll never run out of space again - π holds every file that could possibly exist! They said 100% compression was impossible? You're looking at it!
I enjoyed this linked text:
If you compute it, you will be guilty of:
- Copyright infringement (of all books, all short stories, all newspapers, all magazines, all web sites, all music, all movies, and all software, including the complete Windows source code)
- Trademark infringement
- Possession of child pornography
- Espionage (unauthorized possession of top secret information)
- Possession of DVD-cracking software
- Possession of threats to the President
- Possession of everyone's SSN, everyone's credit card numbers, everyone's PIN numbers, everyone's unlisted phone numbers, and everyone's passwords
- Defaming Islam. Not technically illegal, but you'll have to go into hiding along with Salman Rushdie.
- Defaming Scientology. Which IS illegal--just ask Keith Henson.
The jury is out on whether every finite sequence of digits is contained in pi.
However, there are a multitude of real numbers that contain every finite sequence of digits when written in base 10. Here's one, which is defined by concatenating the digits of every non-negative integer in increasing order. It looks like this:
0 . 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 ...
fun fact, "most" real numbers have this property. If you were to mark each one on a number line, you'd fill the whole line out. Numbers that don't have this property are vanishingly rare.
0.101001000100001000001 . . .
I'm infinite and non-repeating. Can you find a 2 in me?
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The term for what you're describing is a "normal number". As @lily33@lemm.ee correctly pointed out it is still an open question whether pi is normal. This is a fun, simple-language exploration of the question in iambic pentameter, and is only 3 minutes and 45 seconds long.
Merry Christmas!
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