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From: ags@pucc-i (Seaman)
Newsgroups: net.puzzle
Subject: Re: Balls in the bowl: Final word.
Message-ID: <224@pucc-i>
Date: Mon, 27-Feb-84 10:13:10 EST
Article-I.D.: pucc-i.224
Posted: Mon Feb 27 10:13:10 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 28-Feb-84 13:21:30 EST
References: <220@pucc-i> <178@hou2g.UUCP>
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Lines: 24

> I am still unconvinced that the problem of the balls in the bowl can have
> any other answer than infinity.  At every time t=12:00-1/n there are 99n
> balls in the bowl.  Therefore the number of balls is monotonically increasing
> without limit as noon is approached.  One can play games with the terms in
> an infinite series only if it converges.

Your arguments show quite convincingly that the limit of the number of balls
in the bowl, as time-->noon, is infinity.

What makes you think the actual number of balls in the bowl at noon has
anything to do with the limit?  Especially since it has already been
pointed out that if you number the balls and assume that ball number N
is removed at 1/N minute before noon for all N, then every ball is
removed and none are left.

As an aside, I have observed that a good way to get lots of discussion on
an article is to label it "Final word" or the equivalent on the subject line.
-- 

Dave Seaman
..!pur-ee!pucc-i:ags

"Against people who give vent to their loquacity 
by extraneous bombastic circumlocution."