http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=96&ncid=753&e=10&u=/space/20030807/sc_space/newtheoryoftimerattleshallsofscience
Does he have something? Or is it just looney trash?
I don’t know about this guy, but can someone explain why Zeno’s Paradox (especially the one about “Achilles and the tortoise”) is considered a paradox at all?
From my reading, what he thinks is an ‘infinite’ number is really an infinitely regressing number with a fixed fractional value.
1 + 0.1 + 0.01 + 0.001…etc. does not become infinitely large. Rather it becomes 10/9.
It always seemed to me that Zeno completely mistook the concept of a number or distance ‘infinitely increasing’ in his ideas.
Of course, it is quite possible it is I who is mistaken.
When I tacked a link to this article onto a thread in CCC, Chronos replied:
Some issues:
Technically, those aren’t Zeno’s Paradoxes. Zeno’s Paradox involves an arrow in flight: at any point in time, the arrow at at a point in space, so the arrow’s flight is really just a sequence of points.
Regarding “Zeno’s Paradoxes”: The solution seems obvious, now. Space may be infinitely subdivisible (at least in mathematics), but so is time, and there’s a one-to-one correspondence between space and time.
whooshy whoosh whoosh
There are four paradoxes of motion that are generally attributed to Zeno of Elea. You can read about them and their context here.
I can’t find any scientific web sites mentioning this guy. Is he a fake, is that what monstro is whooshing about?
Fascinating. I vaguely remember being told that most of Zeno’s paradoxes came from his students and were only attributed to him. Although, I wonder now how we supposedly found this out…
In any case: to return to the OP, this guy just seems like a loon. Zeno’s Paradox(es) were dealt with a long time ago.
I’ll agree with that, although I’ve never seen a resolution to the arrow paradox that I really like. I also wonder what exactly the ancients found puzzling about the stadium paradox.
I’ll agree with that, although I’ve never seen a resolution to the arrow paradox that I really like. I also wonder what exactly the ancients found puzzling about the stadium paradox.
Bippy,
whooshy = everything in this thread goes right over my head
whoosh whoosh = I wish I had taken logic in college.
Knowing about Symbolic Logic probably wouldn’t help, monstro, except possibly as a mental exercise to become more practiced in logical thought.
Thinking well takes practice, but virtually everyone can learn to do it.
Chronos says we don’t know either way.
I certainly recognize the eminent authority of Chronos in the field of physics, and therefore admit my error. What I should have said is that the assertion, “Space may be infinitely subdivisible (at least in mathematics), but so is time…,” is not known to be true. Perhaps the assertor will admit his error as well — anything is possible.
Seeing as space and time ARE mathematical constructs, there is no reason why they should not be infinitely divisible.
Or am I missing something here?
Obviously you can imagine a space/time continuously or discretely. Maths uses both on occasion.
The question is, what is the universe? For an up-to-the-minute report, read the other thread 
In classical models of time and space, they are indeed infinitely divisible. (It’s just the Cartesian coordinate system in four dimensions.)
It may or may not be the case that modern physics implies a universe that is actually digital, not analog, but it’s far from clear (the Planck length may or may not be the most basic unit, even assuming it’s the smallest unit we can ever measure).
Libertarian: I will once again appeal to your better instincts and beg you to cease spreading ignorance on these boards. There’s more than enough in the world already – we don’t need to help it propagate.
Anyone who’s had two days of calculus class should be able to “solve” Zeno’s paradox, and tell you the precise moment at which the tortoise will be overtaken.