Zeno's paradoxes
I know I've talked about Achilles and the tortoise before... maybe on my other journal. Check it out
But now I want to talk about Zeno's paradoxes. They basically prove that motion is an illusion.
1. (Achilles and the tortoise) You can never catch up:
If Achilles allows the tortoise, say, a 100 foot headstart, by the time Achilles starts, he must first get to the tortoise's starting point. By this time, the tortoise has moved further on. Achilles must then spend time gettig to that point. Following this pattern, no matter how fast Achilles runs, he can never overtake the tortoise. Of course, we know this is ridiculous, and untrue. This is the first paradox.
2. (The dichotmy paradox) You cannot even start:
If you want to catch a stationary bus, before you can get there, you must get halfway there. Before you can get halfway there, you must get a quarter of the way there. Before traveling a quarter, you must travel one-eighth; before an eighth, one-sixteenth; and so on. Basically, you'd have to complete an infinite number of steps, which is, of course, impossible. The second problem, is that any possible distance can be broken down in this way. Therefore, any trip you take, you can't begin to take. So the trip, the distance, the motion, is an illusion. This is the second paradox.
3. (The arrow paradox) You cannot even move:
So, picture an arrow in flight. At every moment, the arrow is in a specific place, right? Since the moment is just a single instant, the arrow has no time to move and is, in fact, at rest in that instant. In following instants, it has to also be at rest for the same reason. So, at all moments in time, the arrow is at rest, and cannot move. This is the third paradox.
Obviously, we all rationally know these paradoxes are untruths. A fast runner can overtake a slower one. It's pretty easy to walk down the street to catch the bus. Arrows fly without much difficulty. But it makes you think, doesn't it? If motion is an illusion, then just what the fuck are we doing all the time? You say you have to go, but you can't go anywhere. You can't start to go anywhere. You say I'll catch up, but you can never catch up, you can't start to catch up, because you can't fucking move.
Maybe it's silly. Maybe I drink too much. Maybe Zeno drank too much. Who can say. All I know is it makes me want to kil myself.
Maybe this weekend.
But now I want to talk about Zeno's paradoxes. They basically prove that motion is an illusion.
1. (Achilles and the tortoise) You can never catch up:
If Achilles allows the tortoise, say, a 100 foot headstart, by the time Achilles starts, he must first get to the tortoise's starting point. By this time, the tortoise has moved further on. Achilles must then spend time gettig to that point. Following this pattern, no matter how fast Achilles runs, he can never overtake the tortoise. Of course, we know this is ridiculous, and untrue. This is the first paradox.
2. (The dichotmy paradox) You cannot even start:
If you want to catch a stationary bus, before you can get there, you must get halfway there. Before you can get halfway there, you must get a quarter of the way there. Before traveling a quarter, you must travel one-eighth; before an eighth, one-sixteenth; and so on. Basically, you'd have to complete an infinite number of steps, which is, of course, impossible. The second problem, is that any possible distance can be broken down in this way. Therefore, any trip you take, you can't begin to take. So the trip, the distance, the motion, is an illusion. This is the second paradox.
3. (The arrow paradox) You cannot even move:
So, picture an arrow in flight. At every moment, the arrow is in a specific place, right? Since the moment is just a single instant, the arrow has no time to move and is, in fact, at rest in that instant. In following instants, it has to also be at rest for the same reason. So, at all moments in time, the arrow is at rest, and cannot move. This is the third paradox.
Obviously, we all rationally know these paradoxes are untruths. A fast runner can overtake a slower one. It's pretty easy to walk down the street to catch the bus. Arrows fly without much difficulty. But it makes you think, doesn't it? If motion is an illusion, then just what the fuck are we doing all the time? You say you have to go, but you can't go anywhere. You can't start to go anywhere. You say I'll catch up, but you can never catch up, you can't start to catch up, because you can't fucking move.
Maybe it's silly. Maybe I drink too much. Maybe Zeno drank too much. Who can say. All I know is it makes me want to kil myself.
Maybe this weekend.