Math, cryptozoology: do cryptids exist?

Self-tutoring about the edge of reality: the tutor reflects….

Sasquatch and other cryptids are believed by some who even provide evidence, which deniers dismiss. Often the denier’s reasoning seems to be “If it was real, we’d know…something like that can’t hide.”

Interestingly, math shows such a parallel. However, in the mathematical case, the “cryptid” numbers are much more numerous than the mundane, everyday ones.

Irrational numbers are non-repeating, non-terminating decimals. They are provably more numerous than the more commonly seen terminating decimals such as 7.0 or -12.31. Square root of 2, as well as PI, are examples of irrational numbers.

Outside of educational institutions, rational numbers (the terminating decimals such as 17.28 that we see every day) seem much more common. Many people likely never see numbers such as 1.414213562….(square root of 2).

Nevertheless, square root of 2 most definitely exists, however rarely so many people will encounter it. Indeed, a type of number can widely exist yet seldom be encountered, as the world of math proves. Might, similarly, types of creatures exist, but just beyond everyday habits, so we almost never notice them?

Source:

math.stackexchange.com

merriam-webster