What is the difference between Zeno's paradox and the Thompson lamp?

1. Mar 7, 2003

Tom Mattson

Staff Emeritus
What is the difference between Zeno's paradox and the Thompson lamp?

In PF v2.0, Ontoplasma brought this up, and I thought it was worth having a look at. Let's go through some of these "supertasks" together.

Last edited by a moderator: Feb 4, 2013
2. Mar 17, 2003

Ben-CS

[inte]?

3. Mar 17, 2003

Tom Mattson

Staff Emeritus
Ben,

Check out the link. It gives a concise definition of a supertask. In brief, it is a task that requires (or appears to require) an infinite number of tasks. Some of them (such as Zeno's paradox) are only superficially "supertasks" due to the fact that the infinite series has a finite sum. Others are represented by divergent series, and are thus truly impossible.

The aim of this thread is to find a way to determine which are possible and which are not. The solution to the problem is mathematical, which is why I posted it here.

I'll have more later.

4. Mar 17, 2003

Ben-CS

Would a bouncing ball be considered a candidate for a supertask?

5. Mar 17, 2003

RuroumiKenshin

I don't quite see why not. But then, I'm not very sure...are there specific characteristics(or tricks) that help with identifying supertasks?

6. Mar 18, 2003

Tom Mattson

Staff Emeritus