Differences between rational and irrational numbers

When you hear the words "rational" and "irrational," they might bring to mind the ruthlessly analytical Spock in "Star Trek." However, if you're a mathematician, you probably think about ratios between integers and square roots.

In the field of mathematics, where words sometimes have specific meanings that are very different from everyday usage, the difference between rational and rational irrational numbers has nothing to do with emotions. Since there are an infinite number of irrational numbers, you would do well to get a basic ...