Daily Archives: March 20, 2006

Math

My Head Hurts

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From Unity of Truth: “Are all infinities the same?“

Well, it seems obvious that that there must be twice as many numbers if you count the half numbers as well as the whole numbers, and three times as many if you count the 1/3 numbers as well as the whole numbers – indeed six times as many if you count halves, thirds, and whole numbers.

But what is obvious is not always true.

There are no more half numbers than whole numbers, because if you line up all the half you can count them – using whole numbers — for as long as you want. So there aren’t any more.

Read the rest.

Books, Family Adventures, These People Crack Me Up

Book-Banning, Beanie & Rose Style

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Yesterday I asked Jane to run upstairs to my room and get a book off my bedside table. "It’s called As I Lay Dying," I said.

Rose let out a shriek. "Nooooo! No!"

"What’s wrong?" I asked. "You don’t want Jane to get it? Did you want to?"

"NO, Mommy! I don’t want you to read that book at ALL! That’s a terrible book!"

"Oh, honey, it’s a beautiful book, really," I reassured her. "Does the title scare you?"

Rose glowered. Fear makes her fierce. "I. Don’t. Like. It."

By this time, Jane had returned with my book. Beanie rushed to my side and studied the cover, which shows (not surprisingly) a drawing of a coffin in the back of a wagon.

"Mommy!" Bean shrieked. "Don’t read this! I don’t want you to lay dying!"

"Sweetheart," I said, wondering where all the melodrama was coming from, and then remembering that they’re my children. "This book doesn’t have anything to do with me. I’m just reading it."

"Well, I don’t like it."

I pointed out that reading How to Eat Fried Worms didn’t make Rose actually EAT any worms, fried or otherwise.

"I would NEVER!" Rose shuddered.

Beanie considered this a moment.

"I wish you would," she said, forgetting all about my nightmarish taste in literature. "It would be very interesting to watch."