damn Latin speaking Stoic

[wonderland]

Yo, can someone help me out and explain a solution to Zeno's paradox pretty pretty please......

[Hurkyl]

Let's begin by having you explain why you think there's a problem

[wonderland]

Welllllll speaking subjectively here, the ambience of the Land Of Paradox is rather a problematic one.... hmm, but yer, the whole kinda inability of time to progress or things to move through space due to their continuous disposition.

[marcus]

Zeno was born on the island of Cyprus and lived most of
his life (c 320-250 BC) in Athens and fragments of his writings
are still around----they are in Greek.

Very likely he never once heard Latin spoken.

Most of what he had to say was about Ethics, that is Morality. He wasnt much of a mathematician or much interested in physics or any kind of natural science.

His socalled paradox? What does it amount to besides semantic foolery? There were Greeks who discovered interesting things about numbers and geometry and even physics (like Ptolemy apparently knew the law of refraction of light in water, and Pythadoras knew how the musical pitch depends on the length of vibrating strings, Aristarchus knew the earth orbits the sun instead of the other way around). So why does Zeno, a second rate Moral Philosopher, keep coming up? Is this all that today's highschool teachers know about Greek science---all that they are able to tell their students about---and all anyone ends up knowing? Its like a new version of the Middle Ages. We need a rebirth of learning.

[wonderland]

Ahem!! It's most lovely to know that you think that Zeno didn't speak Latin, but my subject title was a reference to Marcus Aurelius... I hope that provides some clarity for you, a quality your reply lacked [6)] . Semantic foolery, well thank thee most kindly for providing the elusive solution. Hey i don't know what goes on in these high school, but I love the fact that my Kindergarten teacher tells me about her hero Zeno! [t)]

[quartodeciman]

You are confusing

Zeno of Elia (about 490 BC - 425 BC), a pupil of Parmenides and inventor of the famous space/time paradoxes

and

Zeno of Citium (about 333 BC - 261 BC), the proto-stoic philosopher

.

[Integral]

Please feel free to continue this conversation in this (http://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3848) thread.