There are 10 articles on this title. You are reading the article ranked and rated #4 by Helium's members.
Xeno's paradox can be most simply explained by imagining Achilles, a powerful athlete, having a race against a tortoise. Let us assume that Achilles can run ten times as fast as the tortoise, and that the tortoise gets 100m headstart.
Now, by the time Achilles covers 100m, the tortoise will have travelled a further 10m. When Achilles travels that 10m, the tortoise will have moved another 1m. And so on and so forth. Achilles will never catch the tortoise, beacuse every time he gets to where his opponent was, the tortoise will have moved a tenth of the distance away.
And that is essentially Zeno's paradox, as we know that in actuality Achilles could easily outrun the tortouise, but the maths doesnt quite add up.
The flaw in the paradox is that it treats time and motion as individual points when in fact they are a continuous flow. In fact, using summation formulae it is possible to work out at exactly what point Achilles would overtake his opponent, thereby winning the race.
Learn more about this author, Nicholas Farrow.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:
by Carl Becker
Introduction Like so many other scientific and philosophical endeavors in Ancient Greece, Zeno of Elea's paradox (... read more
by Matthew Ryan
Xeno (or Zeno) was a disciple of the ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides. Parmenides believed that Reality was One:... read more
There are in fact three paradoxes of Xeno's - 1.The paradox of Achilles and the turtle: Achilles and the turtle ... read more
Xeno's paradox can be most simply explained by imagining Achilles, a powerful athlete, having a race against a tortoi... read more
by Marc Chiesa
There were at least four self contractictory arguments concerning time and space that circulated around the philosoph... read more
View All Articles on:
What is Xeno's Paradox
Add your voice
Know something about What is Xeno's Paradox?
We want to hear your view.
Write now!
Already a member? Log in.
Cast your vote!
Click for your side. Must be logged in.
Featured Partner
The Life in the Bible Institute's mission is to educate the general public about the value and importance of reading ...more
hide