5 ms·
The linked proof doesn't work when the floor is too steep. I wrote about it here: https://haggainuchi.com/wobblytable.html https://haggainuchi.com/wobblytable.
by matheist 2y ago
The linked proof doesn't work when the floor is too steep.
I wrote about it here: https://haggainuchi.com/wobblytable.html https://haggainuchi.com/wobblytable.html
My preferred proof goes through a theorem of Dyson that any continuous real valued function on the sphere attains equal values on some square on a great circle.
- jansan 2y agoAlso it does not work if the floor is even and one leg of the table is shorter than the others, which I suspect is the reason for the "wobble" in many cases. IMO this proof is a good example of science taking itself much too important.
- lloeki 2y agoIs it? My experience is that most of the time in practice uneven legs of four legged objects are within a small enough tolerance margin that they can be considered mostly equal, but floors are surprisingly less even than we initially suspect, their vertical variability being perceptually dwarfed by their overall surface.
- jansan 2y agoI think it is. The research paper is probably most useful when printed out, folded and placed under the short leg.
- contagiousflow 2y ago> criticisms of a pure math theorem being applied to physics Next you're going to tell me the Moving sofa problem isn't really about moving sofas!