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Congratulations to everyone who figured it out, and especially to Glenn from Alaska who was the first to email me with the correct answer, and wins $50. In his
by sswam 16y ago
Congratulations to everyone who figured it out, and especially to Glenn from Alaska who was the first to email me with the correct answer, and wins $50. In his words:
"The ball makes an infinite number of progressively smaller bounces in a finite amount of time, and then proceeds to slide (roll?) along the ground at a constant speed."
I was just looking for "infinite number of bounces in a finite amount of time/distance".
I think it's a nice puzzle, because it illustrates Zeno's 'paradox', with a simple model of an everyday occurrence. The answer makes sense, but it is not obvious unless you understand limits. I thought of this puzzle while playing with a pool cue, you can really hear/feel them bouncing faster and faster.