I’m talking high IQ. Would you have anything to ask - or would you not really care to say anything to the person?
CFA or MBA?
Hello Mister Walrus Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > CFA or MBA? +1
How can two objects ever touch if you can halve the distance between them an infinite number of times?
How do I break into Front Office roles?
How do I surf?
What is love?
How can I produce 50%+ annual returns for the rest of my life.
higgmond Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How can two objects ever touch if you can halve > the distance between them an infinite number of > times? I hate this. Someone tried to say something to me like, “if car A is going twice as fast as car B, at what time will car B pass?” and I said, well how far apart are they? and he said “it doesn’t matter, because car A will never pass car B if you keep dividing the distance by 2”. so I responded, then you’re question is irrelevant to science as it includes a finite factor “time”. and in your case above, it includes a finite factor “distance”. whenever you have a finite factor, where it is impossible within that factor to overcome the initial question, the question is useless. its like saying, assuming a 3 second timeframe, what will happen on the 4th second. a math phd said the above to me and the above is why math majors/professors should not be employed. they’re like physicists without a thesis.
MattLikesAnalysis Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The question you are talking about is different from the one that the other guy mentioned. The cars have constant velocity, so the only thing stopping car A from passing car B is the arbitrary time limitation. In the other guy’s question, the rate of decrease in distance between the two objects is decreasing with distance.
http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/touch/touch.html Invalid question. Two items never actually touch, rendering your question moot. I recalled learning this back in physics many years ago. This is a good write-up on it.
^Kinda like how can .9999999 (infinitely repeating) = 1. This was the first proof I was ever shown as a child and it made me absolutely fall in love with math!
MattLikesAnalysis Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > higgmond Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > How can two objects ever touch if you can halve > > the distance between them an infinite number of > > times? > > > I hate this. Someone tried to say something to me > like, “if car A is going twice as fast as car B, > at what time will car B pass?” and I said, well > how far apart are they? and he said “it doesn’t > matter, because car A will never pass car B if you > keep dividing the distance by 2”. so I responded, > then you’re question is irrelevant to science as > it includes a finite factor “time”. > > and in your case above, it includes a finite > factor “distance”. whenever you have a finite > factor, where it is impossible within that factor > to overcome the initial question, the question is > useless. its like saying, assuming a 3 second > timeframe, what will happen on the 4th second. > > a math phd said the above to me and the above is > why math majors/professors should not be employed. > they’re like physicists without a thesis. So what you’re saying is that the finite and the infinite cannot exist at the same time in the same universe?
higgmond Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How can two objects ever touch if you can halve > the distance between them an infinite number of > times? If the two objects are already touching then the distance is zero… and you can divide 0 by 2 an infinitely number of iterations.
higgmond Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How can two objects ever touch if you can halve > the distance between them an infinite number of > times? Huh? They will touch @t = \infinity.
higgmond Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > MattLikesAnalysis Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > higgmond Wrote: > > > -------------------------------------------------- > > > ----- > > > How can two objects ever touch if you can > halve > > > the distance between them an infinite number > of > > > times? > > > > > > I hate this. Someone tried to say something to > me > > like, “if car A is going twice as fast as car > B, > > at what time will car B pass?” and I said, well > > how far apart are they? and he said “it doesn’t > > matter, because car A will never pass car B if > you > > keep dividing the distance by 2”. so I > responded, > > then you’re question is irrelevant to science > as > > it includes a finite factor “time”. > > > > and in your case above, it includes a finite > > factor “distance”. whenever you have a finite > > factor, where it is impossible within that > factor > > to overcome the initial question, the question > is > > useless. its like saying, assuming a 3 second > > timeframe, what will happen on the 4th second. > > > > a math phd said the above to me and the above > is > > why math majors/professors should not be > employed. > > they’re like physicists without a thesis. > > > So what you’re saying is that the finite and the > infinite cannot exist at the same time in the same > universe? no, i’m saying the question is worthless. it is a philosophical question often asked by mathematicans, but it has no relevance to the real world whatsoever. like i said, your question is similar to one like, assuming a 3 second timeframe, what happens on the 4th second.
Sanka’s Mom Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/touch/t > ouch.html > > Invalid question. Two items never actually > touch, rendering your question moot. > I recalled learning this back in physics many > years ago. This is a good write-up on it. Now this is an actual answer, although not an invalid question. Thanks.
The distance will always halve, but if velocity is constant, the time to cover half the distance will also halve. This time adds up to a finite sum, so you will cover a finite distance over a finite time. It’s a bit like the fact that adding up 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, etc up to infinity still results in a finite number: 1/9, to be precise. The strange thing is why people don’t ask more often why the paradox is clearly not true when they obviously traverse finite distances in finite times everyday.
higgmond Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Sanka’s Mom Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > > http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/touch/t > > > ouch.html > > > > Invalid question. Two items never actually > > touch, rendering your question moot. > > I recalled learning this back in physics many > > years ago. This is a good write-up on it. > > > Now this is an actual answer, although not an > invalid question. Thanks. Statement withdrawn. Good question, good answer 
bchadwick Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The distance will always halve, but if velocity is > constant, the time to cover half the distance will > also halve. This time adds up to a finite sum, so > you will cover a finite distance over a finite > time. > > It’s a bit like the fact that adding up 0.1, 0.01, > 0.001, etc up to infinity still results in a > finite number: 1/9, to be precise. > > The strange thing is why people don’t ask more > often why the paradox is clearly not true when > they obviously traverse finite distances in finite > times everyday. thank you bchadwick. you said what i intended, but much more eloquently. the problem with finite times and finite distances is that they can be extended, infinitely, therefore making every finite calculation useless with every passing second.