Quote:
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Originally Posted by Platapus
Ok if we are telling academic jokes.....
A Mathematician, a Physicist, and a Mechanical Engineer are involved in a study.
The Professor tells them that they will be placed in one corner of a room. At the opposite corner of the room is this beautiful naked horny woman.
"Each of you will be allowed to walk toward her but you can only go half the remaining distance every time you move."
"Mathematician, you are first."
The Mathematician refuses to even go in the room and explains that if he can only go half the remaining distance to the naked woman he would never get to her.
The Physicist, wanting to take a look at the naked woman, enters the room, takes a few measurements but comes out and basically agrees with the Mathematician -- by only going half the remaining distance you will never get there.
The Mechanical Engineer enters the room and comes out 45 minutes later, clothes disheveled, smirk on his face, buttoning up his pants. "oh boy she was great"
"Foul!" cried both the Mathematician and the Physicist. "By being restricted to only advancing half the remaining distance you would never get there"
"That is true", replied the Mechanical Engineer, "but soon you get close enough for all practical purposes."
<rim shot>
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I'm gonna take all the humor away and be a pedant/arsehole.
The mathematician would use calculus to show that he would reach his goal.
Thats what calculus is most useful for.
Only the philosopher would point out that the way calculus handles motions
does
disprove the claim that you will never get there if you only go half way in
each journey.