7 ms·

While I thoroughly enjoyed the piece, I am not sure how much an untrained mind would appreciate the whole idea. I can't really judge without going through the

by hashin 10y ago

While I thoroughly enjoyed the piece, I am not sure how much an untrained mind would appreciate the whole idea. I can't really judge without going through the material that accompanies the slides, but I am really skeptical about what a normal child takes away from this.

rnernento 10y ago
I'm a relatively intelligent adult who hasn't previously considered any of these problems or spent much time thinking about infinity. This was perfect for me, I developed an understanding of the problem and solutions in a short amount of time. It was a great read and I felt like I learned something, not sure I can ask for more... I guess what I'm saying is I'm not sure this is even targeted at children.
- MOARDONGZPLZ 10y ago
  I was reminded of the infinite hotel paradox at the beginning, and then suspected that that's where they were going. Sure enough, that's what they did. At the end one of the books on the shelf mentions it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert%27s_paradox_of_the_Grand_Hotel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert%27s_paradox_of_the_Gra...
- Retric 10y ago
  Meh, infinity is not a number. If you want kids to look at it like a mathematician you just need to show infinity as a process and leave Lovecraft horror behind. Here is a circular track. Little ant walks around it counting every number. Where does he stop? Well he never stops! What happens if he needs to two bags. Well if he picks the first up and leaves the other while counting he will never go back. But, he if picks one up moves it an inch, goes back to the other then they both keep moving forward without stopping. You can't say he stops sooner without the bags because he never stops! You can say he moves faster without the bags. PS: If you use this mental model you realise the cow walking forward would never stop stepping into the next set shoe. It would look like a wave where you have infinity and a wave heading at it, but never reaching it. Thus, your not adding 1 to infinity and she never stands on more shoes or adds more legs.

by hashin 10y ago

rnernento 10y ago

I'm a relatively intelligent adult who hasn't previously considered any of these problems or spent much time thinking about infinity. This was perfect for me, I developed an understanding of the problem and solutions in a short amount of time. It was a great read and I felt like I learned something, not sure I can ask for more... I guess what I'm saying is I'm not sure this is even targeted at children.

MOARDONGZPLZ 10y ago
I was reminded of the infinite hotel paradox at the beginning, and then suspected that that's where they were going. Sure enough, that's what they did. At the end one of the books on the shelf mentions it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert%27s_paradox_of_the_Grand_Hotel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert%27s_paradox_of_the_Gra...
Retric 10y ago
Meh, infinity is not a number. If you want kids to look at it like a mathematician you just need to show infinity as a process and leave Lovecraft horror behind. Here is a circular track. Little ant walks around it counting every number. Where does he stop? Well he never stops! What happens if he needs to two bags. Well if he picks the first up and leaves the other while counting he will never go back. But, he if picks one up moves it an inch, goes back to the other then they both keep moving forward without stopping. You can't say he stops sooner without the bags because he never stops! You can say he moves faster without the bags. PS: If you use this mental model you realise the cow walking forward would never stop stepping into the next set shoe. It would look like a wave where you have infinity and a wave heading at it, but never reaching it. Thus, your not adding 1 to infinity and she never stands on more shoes or adds more legs.