here you go… any number multiplied by 1 is itself, right?
so, 1 x 1 = 1. 2 x 1 = 2. 5,837,279 x 1 = 5,837,279.
now try multiplying those numbers by .999~. can’t really do it. and even at your best approximation, the number comes back skewed in the decimal. at SOME point in the number, there will be a digit that is no longer 9. the same works with dividing by 999~.
you can’t use the argument that .999~ goes on forever and that would never happen, because unlike the math “proofs”, you can’t physically do the math and prove it.