Achilles and the Tortoise
The Tortoise challenges the Greek hero Achilles to a race on the condition that Achilles gives him a 10 meter head start. Of course Achilles, fleet of foot, accepts. Faithful to the rules, Achilles allows the Tortoise to start first and does not begin the race until the Tortoise reaches 10 meters. Achilles sprints to the 10 meter mark and looks at the Tortoise. He realizes the Tortoise is no longer at this mark but has progressed 1 meter further. Achilles traverses this meter and realizes the Tortoise is no longer at this newer mark. The Tortoise continues to press forward. It strikes Achilles that each time he reaches a new reference point, the Tortoise has moved forward. Who will win the race and how?
The Paradox
The race course ahead of the Tortoise and Achilles can be subdivided into an infinite number of progressively shorter segments. The argument states that each time Achilles matches a new segment, the Tortoise has always moved a short distance further. How can Achilles ever defeat infinity?
This paradox is worthy of a little of your time. Once you have your solution, vote in the poll. You may go to our lesson page and find a possible resolution to this adaptation of Zeno's Paradox. There is an option to leave a comment on the poll if you select "View Results."
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