aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
puzzles
Paradoxes
other
funny puzzles
other
paradoxes
The Racetrack (or Dichotomy)
One can never reach the end of a racecourse, for in order to do so
one would first have to reach the halfway mark, then the halfway mark
of the remaining half, then the halfway mark of the final fourth,
then of the final eighth, and so on ad infinitum. Since this series
of fractions is infinite, one can never hope to get through the entire
length of the track (at least not in a finite time).
Start ____________________1/2__________3/4_____7/8__15/16... Finnish
But things get even worse than this. Just as one cannot reach the
end of the racecourse, one cannot even begin to run. For before one
could reach the halfway point, one would have to reach the 1/4 mark,
and before that the 1/8 mark, etc., etc. As there is no first point
in this series, one can never really get started (this is known as
the Reverse Dichotomy).
other
funny puzzles
other
paradoxes
|
