Text 45075, 78 rader
Skriven 2006-12-27 13:32:00 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
  Kommentar till text 44846 av Dale Shipp (1:261/1466.0)
Ärende: America
===============
Hello Dale!

On Monday December 25 2006 00:50, you wrote to me:

 EH>> Nothing is impossible.

 MVDV>> Utter nonsense.

 DS>   Nice list.  And I agree with most of it.   But there are many things
 DS>   which people said were impossible, but someone doubted that and
 DS> tried anyhow.  Much of modern technology gives examples of that.

There is a difference between what some people believe(d) to be impossible and
what is proven to be impossible.

 MVDV>> - You can not determine both the speed and the position of a
 MVDV>> particle with arbitrary precision.
 MVDV>> - You can not go faster than light.
 MVDV>> - You can not go back in time.
 MVDV>> - You can not fit a 4 mm peg into a 3 mm hole.

 DS> Ah, but you can if you use a bit of sandpaper or other grinding. But
 DS> of course, the 4 mm peg is no longer a 4 mm peg after you do that.

Indeed. So one can nt fit a 4 mm peg into a 3 mmm hole.

 MVDV>> You can not disprove Fermat's last theorem.

 DS>    But -- you can prove it!

I can repeat the proof that was provided.

 MVDV>> - You cab not lift a 1 meter platinum cube with human bare
 MVDV>> hands only. - You cab not breathe in a vacuum. - You can not
 MVDV>> outrun an elephant. - You cab not force the horse to drink,
 MVDV>> although you can lead it to water. The list is endless.

 DS>   And the list of things once thought to be impossible, but now
 DS>   accomplished is large and growing.

As I said, there is a difference between what some people believe impossible
and what is proven t be impossible.

Yes, many people who claimed something was impossible were proven wrong. It is
wrong however to conclude from that that *nothing* is impossible.

Actually "impossible" needs clarification. Some things are truly impossible.
Such as fitting 4 mm pegs into 3 mm holes. Then there are things that are
widely accepted by the scientific community to be impossible, such as going
faster than light. Maybe, just maybe, it will become possible in the distant
future we will find a way around the light barrier, but as it stands now,
faster than light travel is so much in conflict with present theories that for
all intents and purposes we can consider it impossible. Of course an alien
space ship landing tomorrow on Dam square, Amsterdam may prove me wrong. ;-)

Then there are things that are not impossible in theory, but for all intents
and purposes are impossible for the foreseeable future. A manned interstellar
expedition is such a thing. Theory does not rule it out, but we are so far from
gathering the required resources and technology, that for all practical
purposes a manned expedition Alpha Centauri is impossible.

Next there are things that are impossible in the sense that they require so
much effort that attempting them is simply not worth the effort. They are
impossible because one can not acquire the support needed to get it going. A
manned expedition to Mars comes to mind.

And last here are things that are only possible by pooling the resources of
many, but that are impossible for individuals. Man has been on the moon, but
presently it is not possible for an indidual to visit the moon. Nobody is
selling tickets...

Whatever... "nothing is impossible" is a falsehood.


Cheers, Michiel

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