Xeno's Doughnut*
I was going to write a little article about Xeno (sometimes spelled Zeno), but then I decided to simply include this link to a fun little page. On that page there are links to other articles about Xeno's paradoxes.
* Dilbert comic by Scott Adams, printed 08/15/05. I hope I don't get in trouble for this ...
4 comments:
i used to enjoy dilbert. quite sarcastic especially work-related and find it quite true. i still have one sticking on my shelf ... to remind me not to work so hard !!! but work smart instead.
I hate to say this, but i don't think the dilbert joke is funny. Heh, i understand the mechanics behind the joke, and yet i think that it is stretching the idea of Zeno.
I seriously thought Zeno of Elea who offered all the paradoxes was female. Wow was I wrong.
Oh well, it was nice to get a refresher about Zeno of Elea again. The Physicist Richard Feynman offered a pretty good allusion (without direct quotation) toward the Zeno of Elea paradox, but more mathematically oriented. All the same... I will post a reply on your child's first days in kindergarden.
The joke isn't so much about Xeno, or the donut.
It's that Dilbert is such a loser that he considers this "small talk" remotely interesting or clever.
I thought it was pretty funny. Of course, if I were the one on the date, I probably wouldn't just stop at "name-dropping" Xeno. I would go on to explain his paradox in detail and how controversial it was with the Pythagoras school of though.
Yup. I don't date much.
Ron. (Nerdier than Dilbert)
Patrick, that's a good reminder! When I have the option to not work hard, I usually take it. I hope I work smart other times, but some might disagree ...
Arglor, how can you say that it's not funny??? Come on, it's Xeno's Doughnut! Nobody takes more than half ... it's, like, the everlasting pastry ... similar to the runner paradox. One day, teeny-tiny doughnut crumbs, each about 1/128 the size of a whole doughnut, will start to take over the landfills ... mice and cockroaches will eat at the crumbs 'til they're about 1/1024, but the doughnut will never completely disappear ... eventually, the whole universe will be nothing but sweet doughnut-dust ...
Ron,
Sorry fella, those female philosophy and math majors are few and far between. Your date will most likely begin hitting the hard stuff just like the gal in the comic. That is, unless you're lucky enough to find that special one who, like my Michelle, has the wherewithal to endure all sorts of philosophical insanity with calm and patient dignity.
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