Ah, then the question is that when the trains are exactly opposite to
one another- where is the fly- half way between the trains going
perpendicular to the track, at one or the other of the trains or or
simply confused with the whole problem and going toward a ripe piece of
cow dung? Isn't this related to what is the exact value of 1/3 as a
decimal number?
Don
As a fly, which would be your preference.
On 07/04/2014 2:44 PM, Jose Mario Quintana wrote:
One can avoid the "time" reversal assumption. Consider the modified setup
(with parallel tracks next to each other, etc.) when the trains keep
running and the fly keeps flying (back and forth): when the (front of the)
trains are again 100 miles apart the fly has flown 400 miles; but, where is
it?
On Sat, Apr 5, 2014 at 5:54 PM, Don Kelly <[email protected]> wrote:
If it was "time" reversal- then it would be at the train where it started
in the first place.
Don
On 04/04/2014 11:41 PM, Bo Jacoby wrote:
Bonus-bonus question. Time reversal of the problem: The fly is stuck
between the two trains standing still on the track when suddenly the trains
move apart (with the speeds from before) and the fly flies between them (as
before). What is the position of the fly when the trains have returned to
their stations?
Den 1:28 lørdag den 5. april 2014 skrev Don Kelly <[email protected]>:
Thanks- In any case, the fly is dead-so is Zeno (and the lawyers of his
time)..
Don
On 04/04/2014 3:19 PM, Roger Hui wrote:
A quick check indicates that "terminate" can be used as an adjective.
Therefore, perhaps a better pun is to say "... it is indeterminate
as well
as terminate for the fly", with the last "a" pronounced as a short a.
On Fri, Apr 4, 2014 at 2:43 PM, Don Kelly <[email protected]> wrote:
Initially I would say that it was going perpendicularly to the track
but
as it is also in the process of reversing direction at this instant-
it is
indeterminate
as well terminal for the fly
Don Kelly
On 03/04/2014 2:53 PM, Jose Mario Quintana wrote:
Bonus question: Alright, the fly was flying at the constant speed of
100
mph the whole time; in which direction was it heading at exact the
time
when it was crushed? See below if you give up...
,.@|.@i. 11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
In all directions perpendicular to the line in which it was flying
before
the crash?
Alright, alright, let us change the question to make it less messy,
for
example: the trains are running in still in opposite directions but in
parallel tracks next to each other, the fly is flying in between the
tracks
in the same pattern as before ... (and with all the other necessary
modifications). In which direction was the fly heading at exact the
time
when the two trains crossed each other?
On Tue, Apr 1, 2014 at 12:59 PM, Roger Hui <[email protected]
wrote:
There is a somewhat related anecdote. Two trains are 100 miles
apart on
a
straight track, facing each other and travel at 25 miles per hour
toward
the other. At the same time, a fly flies at 100 miles an hour from
one
train to the other and, when it reaches the other train, turns around
instantaneously and flies toward the other train, and so on. When
the
trains crash, what is the total distance the fly flew?
There is an easy way and a harder way to compute the answer. Someone
posed
the question to John von Neumann. After a moment, he answered, 200
miles.
Correct. Now, Johnny, how did you figure it out?
I summed the series.
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