Thursday, November 20, 2008

grasshoppers don't like infinity

in my seventh grade math class, i heard my first version of zeno's paradox in the form of a thirsty grasshopper. a tired grasshopper wants to drink water that is some distance away. he can only jump half the distance to the water, because he is tired. but he is even more exhausted after the first jump and can only jump half of the remaining distance the next time, then half of that distance the next jump, then half, etc... will the thirsty grasshopper ever reach the water?

my answer was no.

but what about when it comes to mathematicians and beer?


haha! more dork jokes here.

joke found thru talk like a physicist.

3 comments:

Julia said...

Nice. :) In my family growing up, we would play the "infinity game" with desserts when out to eat at a restaurant. When the dessert (which works best when it's a cheesecake/mousse/pudding type dessert) gets down to the last bite or so, one person takes half of what is left, then the other takes half of what is left, and so on. The person who accidentally takes all of what is left because s/he is unable to wield the spoon skillfully enough is the loser.

Fracture said...

Beer isn't infinitely divisible, so 100% of the mathematicians (accurate to any number of decimal places you please) would get no beer at all.

lalamandala said...

oops, i lost again. so sorry but it was delicious :)