Today's Word

Yesterday's Word

Archives

FAQ

A.Word.A.Day--Zeno's paradox

Zeno's paradox (ZEE-no PAR-uh-doks) noun

Any of various versions of a paradox regarding the relation of the discrete to the continuous and requiring the concept of limit for its satisfactory explanation.

[After Zeno of Elea, circa 490-430 B.C.]

"Oh, if you're looking
for a timetable, it's there, in that train, that's now
two feet away, now one, but will never obstruct
or demolish us. Thank heaven for Zeno's paradox!"
John Ashbery, Love in boots, The American Poetry Review, Jan 2, 1995.

This week's theme: syndromes, paradoxes, laws, and principles.

X-Bonus