Guest Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Bonanova and I have an online discussion lasting one minute. Each of us takes half the remaining time to post his message. Which one of us gets the last word? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 the moderator - ha ha or both cos its gonna be simultaneous unless you use electrical equipment - then neither Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Bonanova and I have an online discussion lasting one minute. Each of us takes half the remaining time to post his message. Which one of us gets the last word? <_< i dont like these puzzles to begin with...but.....who posted first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Neither, you will both keep posting indefinitely. Times: --------- You: 30s BV: 15s You: 12.5s BV: 6.25 3.125 1.5625 0.78125 ect... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 TwoaDay Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 it depends whos computers faster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 Neither, you will both keep posting indefinitely. Times: --------- You: 30s BV: 15s You: 12.5s BV: 6.25 3.125 1.5625 0.78125 ect... You guys must be able to type really fast if you're posting milliseconds apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 unreality Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 pw0nzd: it ends after a minute, so someone got the last post a simpler form is this: a light switch is flicked on in 10 minutes, off after 5, on after 2.5, etc. After 20 minutes, is the bulb on or off? even simpler: is infinity odd or even? answer: neither! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 bonanova Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 pw0nzd: it ends after a minute, so someone got the last post a simpler form is this: a light switch is flicked on in 10 minutes, off after 5, on after 2.5, etc. After 20 minutes, is the bulb on or off? even simpler: is infinity odd or even? answer: neither! Yet another assertion -- no wonder these discussions go on forever. Can you prove that infinity is not even? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 unreality Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 there's no reason to suppose it's odd, no reason to suppose it's even. Can you prove it's either/or? It wasn't a blind assertion- you yourself have said that "inf is not a number", ergo not even/odd like a 'real' number Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Prime Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 (edited) Whoever started first will have spent 40 seconds for his posts, the other -- remaining 20 seconds. As far as the last word goes... If there is a minimal time in which you can still make a post, then probability of the last word is 1/2 for either person. If length of each post can be divided indefinitely (timewise) -- then neither can have the last word. Because after infinite number of replies, the length for each reply for either person becomes zero. And when you have zero time for your reply, you cannot make one. P.S. Since I took an entire minute for this missive -- not half a minute, no one can argue with that. Edited August 14, 2008 by Prime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 what's that have to do with infinity? you have a set time before it ends. 60-30-15...click...click, it ends. you might think you have infinite posts, but there isnt' infinite space for infinite posts. there's an end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 what's that have to do with infinity? you have a set time before it ends. 60-30-15...click...click, it ends. you might think you have infinite posts, but there isnt' infinite space for infinite posts. there's an end.It's basically a thought experiment. Obviously, no one can type a post in 2-800 minutes. The point is to wrap your head around the fact that there would be no last post, but there would be a time when all the posts have been made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Brandonb Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Bonanova and I have an online discussion lasting one minute. Each of us takes half the remaining time to post his message. Which one of us gets the last word? Considering the one minute time limit can be broken infinitely, then the only finite part to the discussion would be that one of the two of you is going to make the final point. Or you will agree to disagree. There is no mathematical answer to this question, however there is a logical one, and that is that the lesser hard-headed of the two of you will get the last word. B/c he will be the one to concede or change the subject of the discussion. Then again... If the subject is changed, then I guess the more Hard-Headed person would get the last word, b/c the other person would have begun to discuss something else. So yeah, Change of subject = More hard-headed person gets the last word. Concession = Less hard headed person gets the last word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted August 14, 2008 Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 Bonanova and I have an online discussion lasting one minute. Each of us takes half the remaining time to post his message. Which one of us gets the last word? This is like you unable to catch a stationary bus if you keep on moving half of the remaining distance within an allotted time. The distance will tend to (approach) zero but will never be zero Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Guest Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 Man, that's a good riddle. I'd say the time period is irrelevant, the main point is that there will be an infinite amount of alternating posts generated. Since there is no 'final' post, the answer cannot be determined. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Bonanova and I have an online discussion lasting one minute. Each of us takes half the remaining time to post his message. Which one of us gets the last word?
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