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Post by William on Oct 21, 2003 22:56:05 GMT -5
Here is my proof that the theorey of infinity is flawed...
In order to walk from any point a to point b, you must go half that distance first...
before and after that, you must go half that distance...
and again, before and after that, you must again go half that distance...
so there is an infinite number of distances you must travel in order to go from point a to point b...
correct? any disagreements?
now...the important part...
lets say to go from a to b it takes 10 seconds...
so to go the half it takes 5 seconds
and half that takes 2.5 seconds...
and so on...
so every step takes half the time of the distance before...
and with only devideing the times in half...every step takes an amount of time to travel...
so therefore, any amount of time, multiplied by an infinite number of distances, equals an infinite amount of time to travel even half any distance...!
this just shows a flaw in our 'commen sense'...sure we know why this isnt true, but doesnt it make sense though?
this can also be done with the area of an 'odd' shape...
where you have an infinite amout of parts that all have a volume...no matter how small...and infinite number of them should result in an infinite volume...
responses?
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Post by BELETH the Mighty on Oct 22, 2003 21:39:17 GMT -5
Hell, and I thought that I think too much.
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Post by William on Oct 22, 2003 21:42:25 GMT -5
hah...i get that a lot from steve burns...it makes sense though does it not?
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simplybeingloved
X-Treme Gulp
<i have mastered the art of not giving a shit>
Posts: 298
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Post by simplybeingloved on Oct 22, 2003 21:42:42 GMT -5
why did that so make sense to my slow ass?! hey you should like talk to someone about that if it really rwally seems true. Hmm, whoa you're too smart 4 me.
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Post by Mark617 on Oct 22, 2003 21:44:22 GMT -5
yeah, im gonna take an aspirin, see a doctor in the morning, and then try to interpret that paradox
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Post by scott on Oct 22, 2003 21:45:23 GMT -5
hahaha
Wow,you'll have to writean article about that for sixswitch.com(content coming soon).
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Post by Wilshire on Oct 22, 2003 22:09:02 GMT -5
good reasoning. It makes sense in that context. But the fact that it takes 10 seconds to walk from point A to point B...well it takes 10 seconds. It takes infinite smaller and smaller amounts of time, but the sections will all add up to equal 10......somehow, but i dont' know how. When you divide the times, infinity doesn't make sense if it also allows for just 10 seconds to cover a distance.
my head hurts
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Post by GilSchwartzman on Oct 22, 2003 22:11:02 GMT -5
but if its divided so small like that, it doesnt divide to infinity, it will divide an infinite amount of times. so its really more like a number closer to zero not infinity
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SuperCrazySquanto
Big Gulp
BANNED
The North American Martyrs Saga was always the Best
Posts: 188
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Post by SuperCrazySquanto on Oct 23, 2003 10:54:20 GMT -5
As Gil said, you're really taking the limit of the fraction, not dividing it until it reaches infinity. You can always keep dividing the fraction (thus can be divided infinitely), yet you never have an infinite number of distances...
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Post by Liek on Oct 23, 2003 15:32:47 GMT -5
Yes, there are an infinite number of midpoints between any two things. But that has nothing to do with the value of infinity. Infinity cannot be expressed in numbers. It doesn't really exist. If a line continues without an endpoint, it is said to be infinite. Concerning midpoints, numbers can break down into an infinte number of decimals, but that doesn't mean that two points will have an infinite amount of space between them.
There was an ancient Greek guy who tried to apply the infinite midpoint thing here. He theorized that if there are infinite midpoints, if he fired an arrow at his servants head, the arrow would never get there and kill his servant. He was wrong.
Wow, all that crap I learned in Pre-Calc finally applied somewhere!
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Post by Wilshire on Oct 23, 2003 15:58:53 GMT -5
Very good. A distance can be divided into infinitely smaller distances, but the distance reamins and can be reached b/c those infinitely smaller distances aren't real. Really they only exist in theory.
There are definitions for limits in calculus. And it is said that something that approaches infinity does not have a limit. Like a parabola that is situated right will never reach the y axis; its get closer but in smaller amounts.
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Post by Liek on Oct 23, 2003 16:34:48 GMT -5
Like a parabola that is situated right will never reach the y axis; its get closer but in smaller amounts. Yeah, good ol' Mr Buryta told us what a line that aproaches-an-axis-but-never-gets-there is called, but I can't remember. I think it was a "hyperbola" or something. Oh well, I have my B-, and that's all that matters. |
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Post by William on Oct 23, 2003 17:13:17 GMT -5
its called an asymtote...and there are an infinite number of spaces all of which contain a time, but the limit idea does not apply here john because it approaches 0, never reaches it, but gets infinitely closer, a limit has a stop point it gets infinitely closer to, this gets infintely closer to infinity...
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Post by ♫MysteriousMan♫ on Oct 23, 2003 17:14:47 GMT -5
A distance can be divided into infinitely smaller distances, but the distance reamins and can be reached b/c those infinitely smaller distances aren't real. I think you're wrong there. I think they do exist, it is just damn near impossible to measure. If we had the time and effort and crap to measure to that small of an incriment, i think we would be so advanced in technology that we could actually use that money and technology elseware. Basically, I disagree with you. You say the distances aren't real. I say they are there, they are just too small to see and notice with your naked eye. If you used a microscope, you could see things that you might think aren't real. It's hard to describe, but I hope you all get it. |
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Chivo
Wee Gulp
Moo to you
Posts: 12
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Post by Chivo on Oct 27, 2003 19:17:56 GMT -5
I have a theory too, "people are stupid," see post #1 and all posts that agree with it for my proof (nothing personal guys). Secondly, this discussion is hardly original; Zeno of Alexandria did this about 2500 years. Here is his problem and solution: www.karlscalculus.org/calc2.html |
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