ABSTRACT
In the 5th century B.C., the Greek philosopher Zeno presented the following puzzling paradox: If a slower runner is provided a head start in a race with a faster runner, it is impossible for the latter to win, since for every section of time, the slower runner will have advanced beyond the position reached by the faster one. Common experience indicates that this cannot be true—predictably the faster runner will win the race. But what is the fallacy of Zeno’s argument? Philosophers, physicists, and mathematicians have ruminated on explanations for this dilemma for over two thousand years. While some feel certain explanations offer a resolution to the paradox, others continue to feel that this puzzling question still lacks elucidation. Involved in such analyses are issues of continuity of motion, the nature of infinity, and shaping of the space-time continuum. Struggling with an explanation for Zeno’s paradox thereby challenges concepts of reality that have bearing on many aspects of philosophical thought and the nature of the physical world.
