Originally posted by shavixmir
Well, it was called a paradox on the internet... that's where I read it yesterday.
I didn't do any tests, I'm just thinking back...
Now, I understand that it's a mathematical fact... I just can't remember it actually happening in reality.
So, I was wondering if their are any statistics where someone has actually done practical measurements to see if the floor.
And that's why I'm wondering if this isn't something along those lines.
If we say there is X% chance of something S happening during C type of occasion where 0 < X < 100 then there must be a none-zero chance of S not happening ( as well as a none-zero chance of S happening ) during any C type of occasion that you observe and that would not involve a paradox.
So, I was wondering if their are any statistics where someone has actually done practical measurements to see if it's correct (or... in other words... if mathematical fact = practical reality).
The results of any such measurement or test would be inconclusive or even meaningless because, according to the maths, there would be a none-zero chance of S not happening during any finite set of C type of occasion that are observe so that, even if S happening was never observed in such a test in any observed occasion, that would not contradict the maths. Sometimes, according to the maths of probability, unlikely things do happen you know!
An example of a discrepancy would be: something drops a whole distance, but before it drops a whole distance it has to drop half that distance first. Hence something that's dropped, mathematically (I don't know the equation though), can never hit the floor.
That isn't a discrepancy.
If something moves 1/2 way from point A to point B in time T1 and then moves 1/4 distance between point A to point B in time T2 and then moves 1/8 distance between point A to point B in time T3 etc,
then if you add up all those time periods i.e. T1 + T2 + T3 + ….etc , then even though that is an infinite series of periods of time, they can add up to a finite amount of time rather than an infinite amount of time ( thus something dropping will hit the floor! And in finite time ) . It may be slightly anti-intuitive but where people get confused here into thinking there is a paradox here when there isn't is where they lack understanding that an infinite series of non-zero finite quantities ( where periods of time is just one example ) can add up to a finite rather than an infinite quantity! The above is an example of this where
T*½ + T*¼ + T*1/8 + T*1/16 + ... + T*1/infinity = T ( where T is finite and non-zero )
and there is no mathematical discrepancy here.