← Back to context

Comment by lambdaone

3 days ago

Not just that, but we can solve quintics in the almost[1] general case to arbitrary precision, providing we are willing to accept approximate solutions.

[1] I exclude things that are truly perverse such as quintics with coefficients that won't fit on any physically realizable computer.

Back in college I played a similar game by drawing septagons with a straightedge and compass. They're not constructable, but a length within a three significant figures is easily constructed, and that's more accurate than I am with a compass.