Point on a Line, a Line on a Plane, and a Plane in Space

Logic, Mathematics
Each point has a specific location. Two points determine a line. Three points determine a plane. Let us consider some simple math derivations to arrive at a format for each. For simplicity’s sake, we will use the familiar x, y, z Cartesian coordinate system. We begin with a point on a line. First, Point on a Line In space, a single point has an x value, a y value, and a z value. If the coordinate system chosen for the point is a simple 1-D line, then only one variable – say x – is needed to describe it. Then, since there is no y or z to consider, the mathematical description of the point is x = c But let us, for reasons that will be understood later, write…
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Some Reasons I Disbelieve in Time Travel

Logic
[caption id="attachment_7363" align="alignright" width="440"] I disbelieve in time travel.[/caption] I love a good science fiction precept. One of the classic precepts is time travel. Books have been written. TV shows aired. Movies released. I can’t get enough of it, especially if some fresh nuance concerning time travel is postulated. Despite that, I totally disbelieve time can be traversed, or indeed that it is anything other than one-dimensional and forward moving. I have a few reasons for feeling so. The last one I present represents for me the final sword thrust, the coup de grâce, for time travel. Time Travel – My First Difficulty The first concept of travelling in time is doubtless to return to the age of dinosaurs. The notion of travel to the past is abundant in classic…
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What is a Negative Number?

Logic
Maybe a negative number is simply a number headed in a different direction. After all, an imaginary number is real. Opposite charges don’t cancel. Antimatter isn’t the opposite of matter. Male and female compliment each other. Instead of three dimensions, maybe there are six dimensions. Or if you include time, maybe there are seven dimensions. Coordinate Systems If there truly is no such thing as a negative number, then both halves of the x-axis, at 180º with respect to each other are positives headed in different directions. What would stand in the way of there being an infinite number of positive directions in between what was formerly negative x and positive x, each rotated a miniscule amount? Waves Even waves that cancel one another at various points may sing a…
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Einstein and the Goldfish Bowl

Logic
Einstein and the Goldfish Bowl By Ellen Hetland Fenwick I absorbed Einstein physics very well. I understood the changes. He made significant use of Riemann geometry, in which there are an infinite number of parallel lines through a given point. The geometry is part of the mother’s milk of mathematicians. The equations were relatively simple. I was comfortable and a believer. There's Always a String Attached When string theory came along, I pondered for a while about whether it was worth the time to study it. Mostly it was theory with no data to verify its conjectures. And, of course, there were several string theories to choose from. I said, “Let’s wait until they agree and have some evidence to support the theory”. Meanwhile people adept at Physics are, I…
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More About Paradoxes – Ellen Hetland Fenwick w. Benjamin Curtin

Logic
Paradoxes: The Box Problem: Remember the puzzle I posted a short time ago? I state it again... The boxes below contain the BOX numbers of five boxes: BOX 0 contains all BOX numbers that do not contain their own BOX numbers. Here are two questions: Should 0 be in Box 0? Should 0 not be in Box 0? The answers to the questions are as follows: If 0 is in Box 0, it should not be. If 0 is not in Box 0, it should be. This is an example of paradoxes. Here are some others. Paradoxes: The Barber Problem The barber shaves all those who do not shave themselves. Who shaves the barber? Answer: if he shaves himself he should not; if he does not shave himself he should.…
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