Colin the Mathmo on Nostr: I don't understand why this misconception happens: "If a number is irrational then ...

I don't understand why this misconception happens:

"If a number is irrational then the decimal expansion goes on forever and never repeats.

"Therefore every finite sequence of numbers must appear somewhere."

This is clearly, demonstrably false, and yet some people cling to it, dismissing any attempt to explain why it's not true.

They're not stupid, so:

* Why do they believe it?

* Why do they reject the demonstration that it's false?

I don't understand ...