Zeno's Achilles and Tortoise Paradox
What is it?
Zeno's Achilles and Tortoise paradox is a philosophical puzzle that proposes a hypothetical footrace between Achilles, who is fast, and a tortoise, who is slow. The paradox argues that, due to the infinite number of halfway points that must be crossed, Achilles will never be able to catch up to the tortoise, thus questioning the possibility of motion and change.
Zeno's Achilles and the Tortoise Paradox is another famous paradox attributed to the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea. This paradox, like Zeno's Dichotomy Paradox, challenges our understanding of motion and involves the concept of infinity. Here's the scenario in simple terms:
Imagine a race between the fast runner Achilles and a slow-moving tortoise. To make the race fair, Achilles gives the tortoise a head start. When the race begins, Achilles quickly reaches the point where the tortoise started. However, during the time it takes for Achilles to reach that point, the tortoise has moved a small distance forward.
Now, Achilles must cover the new distance to where the tortoise is. While he does that, the tortoise moves forward yet again, albeit a smaller distance this time. Every time Achilles reaches the spot where the tortoise was, the tortoise has moved a little bit further. This process continues indefinitely.
The paradox suggests that, theoretically, Achilles can never overtake the tortoise because there will always be a new, smaller distance to cover before he can catch up. This seems counterintuitive because, in reality, we know that a faster runner like Achilles wou ...