I was catching up on XKCD today and this blog post jumped up at me. It's an awesome paradox/question and one of my favourites.
It was one of the first logic puzzles I ever tackled and, whilst it is not the hardest, I thought it through for a long time. The answer is actually incredibly simple (if you think it through logically) but I questioned for ages that it *could* be right! :)
The main thing that I like about this puzzle though is in how it shows us a lot about people: mostly how they approach ideas like this. It amazes me the number who assume the question "does the plane take off?" also means "does the plane stand still?". This is NOT the point of course and is where a lot of people seem to fall down in finding an answer.
The other prevalent assumption that gets me is how people think there is a point of balance where the plan can stop moving. In fact that position is completely impossible simply due to the physics involved. Oh yeh and remember that the wheels are not driven: so essentially no part of the plane taking off...
Yes, it is something of a paradox. But one with an answer. I also think that the "easy" answer is the correct one - the problem is that people never seem to get past working out if the plane moves or not :)
SO we reach the point of this little diatribe: logic. I have to wonder if the general approach to this problem is representative of our modern society - and where it is going wrong. I just feel like if we applied a few ounces of logic to every day li
(By the way I think it is fairly easy to prove, mathematically, that the plane will take off eventually but will need more runway)