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LIFE AND LIES #49 | √2 is irrational

Back in school, when we were learning about numbers - whole, natural, integers, rational, irrational, and more, there used to be a mathematical question.

Prove that √2 is irrational.

I found it very amusing when the teacher announced to the class, the first step of the proof.

Assume that √2 is rational.

Then came the second step, the mandatory condition that every rational number followed, i.e., it can be written in the form of p/q, in which p and q are co-prime integers and q is not equal to zero.

So on went the next steps which I have no recollection of, but in the end, we ended up proving that √2 is irrational.

What I am trying to say is that in life, it is the same with people.

We often meet people who don't come across as rational beings given their first impression. But we shouldn't carry on with that. Try the other route. Why not, to begin with, we can assume even the most irrational people as rational only. Then follow the steps to find if our starting assumption was valid or not.

A number can either be rational or irrational. The same goes for people.

That's what makes them real (Mathematical pun intended). 😜




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Location: Kolkata, West Bengal, India

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