Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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XenoCart

Great for math and philosophy classes
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A recent annotation remarked regarding the impracticality of Xeno's paradox, considering the inability of humans to perform the tiniest of motions that would soon be required in the application of this motion algorithm.

Oddly, this annotation was written by [half], but we won't dwell on that.

However, it occurst to me that one can easily construct a moveable contraption, the XenoCart, that can accept computerized commands to move a wide range of distances. Perhaps using the technology IBM used to spell it's name in atoms, it could get into quite fine fractions.

The cart, perhaps resting on a length of rail, would be designed to turn a light on or ring a buzzer in the event that it actually reached a destination.

Bystanders would then look in amazement as the cart moves half distances but never quite reaches its goal.

theircompetitor, Jan 26 2005

Xeno's Paradox http://www.jimloy.com/physics/zeno.htm
Not really a paradox, but if you use a fixed time step you may be able to trick people into thinking it is. [Worldgineer, Jan 27 2005]

[link]






       Sorry, there's some math and philosophy I find interesting, but these reenactments -- I think this is the third in two weeks -- of the same centuries-old category error bore me to smaller, and smaller, and smaller, pieces.
jutta, Jan 27 2005
  

       Fractals.
bristolz, Jan 27 2005
  

       If it were broken, how could you ever find out?
zeno, Jan 27 2005
  

       zeno, who's side are you on here?
theircompetitor, Jan 27 2005
  

       Well, uhm, you know, uhm, uhm, like, uhm, if, uhm you know, uhm,
zeno, Jan 29 2005
  
      
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