Divide by Zero/Reality Paradox

[Skragna]

Okay, let's try looking at different things that are paradoxical, like dividing by 0 or the following:

Pinnochio walks up to you and says in Common: "My nose will grow now!"

Thing is, if it does, he's not lying and it won't grow.

*prepares to watch heads explode*

[lanyara]

Perhaps Pinnochio does not know that he is lying.

[Urik]

do you know what happens when you divide zero by zero?

1) is it equal to one because if you divide anything by itself it is one.
2) is it equal to zero because if zero is on top of a fraction it will be zero

and how many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop....the world may never know.

[Phelan]

"Truth begins in lies." Gregory House

[Ritor]

lying and being simply mistaken are two different things.


eighteen licks.

[luminier]

i thought if you divide by zero you just took the derivative of the top and bottom and it wouldn't equal nothing. thats just me though.


also, Phelan, Greg House = God.

[matusalem]

I forget his name, maybe some of you college kids can remind me, but there was a greek philosopher who basically disproved movement. Say you have a distance of ten yards between point A and point B. Well, before you can cross that distance, you will first have to cross half of it. Five yards. However, before you can cross those five yards, you'll have to cross half of them as well. Two and a half yards. Still, to cross that length, you must first reach the halfway point of that distance... and so and and so fourth. You can keep dividing the distance in half and in half and in half... so if you keep dividing that distance in half, how can you in any way measure your motion?

[luminier]

i just walk 11 yards and tell him to go to hell

[Zehren]

I forget his name, maybe some of you college kids can remind me, but there was a greek philosopher who basically disproved movement. Say you have a distance of ten yards between point A and point B. Well, before you can cross that distance, you will first have to cross half of it. Five yards. However, before you can cross those five yards, you'll have to cross half of them as well. Two and a half yards. Still, to cross that length, you must first reach the halfway point of that distance... and so and and so fourth. You can keep dividing the distance in half and in half and in half... so if you keep dividing that distance in half, how can you in any way measure your motion?

You're thinking of Zeno's paradox?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeno%27s_paradoxes

[anglachel]

Zeno's paradox is 'Achilles and the Tortoise'.
Booth make a footrace and Achilles grant the turtle a headstart of 100 feet.
Then Archilles reaches the startpoint of the turtle, the turtle runs 10 feet. Then
Archilles reaches this point, the turtler runs 1 feet and so on.
So Archilles can run so fast has he wont, but ne never will able to overtake the turtle.

An other paradox is: 'This statement is wrong!'

[Zehren]

ALL CRETANS ARE LIARS!
said the Cretan...

[Delmon]

Newcomb's paradox (though arguably not a prardox still interesting to think about)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newcomb's_paradox

[Urik]

"The next statement is true. The previous statement is false."

[Andreati]

"This statement is false" is a bit simpler, Urlyth.

[isengoo]

"Thou shalt not kill." - God

[isengoo]

Hm, that's more of a hypocrisy, not a paradox.

[matusalem]

That's the King James translation. A more literal translation from the original hebrew would be "Thou shalt not murder."