Michael

The number line between 0 and 1 is finite, and yet it is still impossible to count the real numbers between them.

Which doesn't have anything to do with solving Zeno's paradox.

No graph is going to help. If asked to count the reals from 0 to 1, which is the first number you count after 0? There isn't one. You can't even start...

And again that doesn't have anything to do with solving Zeno's paradox.

Again consider the analogy of counting the real numbers between 0 and 1. Calculus can't show that it's possible to count each of the infinite reals be...

But that doesn't address Zeno's paradox at all.

Good point.

There's a "Lounge" category for off-topic discussions. Unless you specify so in your settings these will be included on the front page.

It was picked up by our automatic spam filter. It wasn't deleted by a moderator. I've restored it.

Your comment confuses me. These two seem contradictory: "As you're indicating, you need to accept some arbitrary discrete amount in order to move" "In...

This doesn't follow. A good analogy to Zeno's paradox is that of counting the real numbers from 0 to 1. Before we can count to 1 we have to count to 0...

And I think that's wrong. That the sum of an infinite series can be finite doesn't explain how a supertask can actually be completed (or in this case ...

Summing an infinite series in mathematics isn't anything like actually completing a supertask, which is what Zeno proposes we must do to move. This is...

I don't see what this has to do with mathematics. If anything it calls into question the notion that movement is continuous. If movement is actually d...

I have no idea what you mean. But the version in the OP isn't a conundrum at all. It just doesn't list a valid answer.

No it isn't. The answer to the version in the OP is 0%, which just isn't offered as an option. You might as well ask: Multiple Choice: If you choose a...

Imagine the question were written like this: Multiple Choice: If you choose an answer to this question at random, what is the chance you will be corre...

/u/Filmflamm?

This reminds me of the Monty Hall problem.

Ah, yes. That's a good point. Now I'm getting the 33%.

Here it is in R: x <- c("25", "50", "60", "25") s <- 0 for (i in 1:1000000) { if (sample(x, 1) == sample(x, 1)) { s = s + 1 } } print(s / 10000)

Javascript then? https://jsfiddle.net/fw7tp0n8/ I don't know R, but if you show me your code I might be able to figure out what you're doing (as I did...

I'm not sure if I've got the logic right, but I get a chance of 37.5%. http://sandbox.onlinephpfunctions.com/code/ab2fb5e6371a618abe604072671d8a6c4987...

This makes no sense. Whether or not you care about Paris has no bearing on whether or not there are 2 or 4 answers to the question. There are only 2 a...

Whether or not you care is irrelevant.

The question is irrelevant. We're discussing the logic of picking an answer at random. That logic doesn't depend at all on the question. A random sele...

Because you don't seem to understand it with your question, so I'm providing an alternative that should make the reasoning clearer. There are only two...

If in a real life multiple choice quiz there are duplicates - e.g A) Paris, B) Paris, C) Paris, and D) London - and I don't know the answer then I wil...

The principle behind there being 2 answers, not 4, is the same. In your question there are 3 answers, not 4. So if I'm asked to pick an answer at rand...

No, I'm disagreeing over what is the sample space. There are two cities in this list, not four: A. Paris B. Paris C. Paris D. London If I'm asked what...

One what? One answer? But what counts as an answer? If I were to ask you for the capital city of France, and then list A) Paris, B) Paris, C) Paris, a...

I'm not changing the sample space. I'm saying that there is room to disagree over what is the sample space. You say that the sample space is the rows ...

How many cities are in this list? A. Paris B. Paris C. Paris D. London 4 or 2? I say 2. So if I'm asked to pick a city at random from that list, I thi...

None of the answers provided in the original question are correct, so the chance of being right is 0%.

Only if one of the answers actually is correct, but none of them are.

What is the capital city of France? A. Paris B. Paris C. Paris D. Paris You say there are 4 answers (A, B, C, and D). I say there is 1 answer (Paris) ...

That's the point. The question doesn't say that I have to pick one of A, B, C, or D at random. It just says pick "an answer" at random. I might interp...

I'm suggesting that this is a viable way to select an answer at random: x <- unique(c("25", "50", "60", "25")) x2 <- sample(x, 10000, replace = TRUE, ...

You are playing a game of rock paper scissors. Your opponent selects scissors. If you select one of the below at random, what is the chance that you w...

Only if one of the answers is correct. But for the answer to be correct the probability of choosing it must equal its value. Given that 33.33% isn't a...

If you pick a ball at random from a bag containing 2 red, 1 blue, and 1 black ball then there's a 50% chance that the ball is red, a 25% chance that t...

I suffer. I am part of the world. Therefore, the world's total suffering has increased.

Here's a better way to explain it. An answer is correct if and only if its value matches the chance that an answer with that value will be selected. S...

That's not a helpful response.

I don't understand your reasoning.

What?

It changes everything. If C is 0% then there isn't a correct answer, whereas if C is 60% then the correct answer is missing, and if C is 50% then ther...

Then it's no different to asking for the capital city of France and not supplying "Paris" as a possible answer. There's no conundrum, just a bad quest...

That's how I feel after moving into a new flat that's next to a road and now not having slept for three nights because of the noise. Also: http://i0.k...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8jqr3KuUXs