Re:Leslie Lamport revolutionized computer science with math ...
by EGreg on Tuesday May 24, 2022 @11:42PM
(#31500372)
Right. So now the question is -- are you able to give a physical example of physical (continuous) processes which can create a discontinuous output from a continuous initial state, in a finite amount of time? I think this is a sort of Zeno's paradox...
Re:Leslie Lamport revolutionized computer science with math ...
by juhanima on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @06:38AM
(#31502607)
Tossing a coin?
Re:Leslie Lamport revolutionized computer science with math ...
by EGreg on Wednesday May 25, 2022 @07:33AM
(#31503048)
No. The coin could land on its side, for instance, and stay there.
Consider a pencil that is placed almost vertically, and then later drops to a horizontal position. There is a period where it is "unsure" where to go, and the more perfectly balanced it starts out, the longer this period is (assuming no wind etc.)
That's what is being discussed.
No, as you expected. Take f(x) = x^2 on [0,1]. Then f(f(f(...f(x))) converges to g(x) = { 0, if 0 <= x < 1; 1, if x=1 }