I tend to view the golden ratio as the least irrational irrational number. It fills in the next gap after all the rational numbers. In the same way, 1⁄2 is the noninteger which shares the most algebraic properties with the integers, even though it’s furthest from them in a metric sense.
Huh, an extra reason why the golden ratio is the “most irrational”/most unusual irrational number.
I tend to view the golden ratio as the least irrational irrational number. It fills in the next gap after all the rational numbers. In the same way, 1⁄2 is the noninteger which shares the most algebraic properties with the integers, even though it’s furthest from them in a metric sense.