Subject: Re: [LPNY DISCUSS] Re: Utopia Date: Tue, 26 Aug 2003 10:51:58 -0400 To: From: Bob Armstrong On Mon, 25 Aug 2003 20:33:08 -0400, Bonnie wrote: >=A0Greg: >>=A0Look up "Zeno's paradox." Progress gets slower >>=A0as you get closer. That's why you never really >>=A0get there. (Picture an asymtotic curve.) > >=A0Less metaphorically: your standards change, >=A0get higher, as things improve. The bar is >=A0raised. Zeno's paradox isn't even an appropriate metaphor . It is tamed in the couple of weeks math courses spend on summing infinite series . Specifically , Zeno's boils down to the following series ( in K ( or APL ) ) : +/ % 2 ^ 1 _ ! 10 />/ 0.998046875 +/ % 2 ^ 1 _ ! 100 />/ 1.0 Converges to machine accuracy ( 18 digits ) in less than 100 terms . It describes a straight line , not an asymptotic curve like a negative exponential like radioactive decay or the future value of money . Fuzzy thinking passing for argument is the excuse for the bulk of Statist BS . --=A0 =A0Bob Armstrong -- http://CoSy.com -- 212-285-1864 Computing Environment : =A0http://cosy.com/K/CoSy.htm=A0 A WTC vision : http://cosy.com/CoSy/ConicAllConnect/ Liberty : http://cosy.com/Liberty.htm