[extropy-chat] Puzzle - Short Tale

[Mike Lorrey]

--- "natashavita at earthlink.net" <natashavita at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Can anyone answer this?
> 
> A monk wakes one morning and decides to climb the mountain next to
> his hut.
> He sets out right after dawn, follows the path to the top and arrives
> at
> the top of the mountain in the late afternoon.  He spends the night
> near
> the top of the mountain and descends along the same path the next
> day,
> leaving again right after dawn and arriving in the afternoon. 
> Question: 
> Is there a spot on the path where the monk is at the exact same time
> on the
> two days?  Prove your answer. 

Well, since he is taking the same time going up as down, then we say,
for example, that dawn is at 6 am, and late afternoon is 4 pm. The
halfway point occurs at 11 am. Because of the identical times going up
and down, then we can't say that gravity will make it easier for him to
come down than go up. A monk, being a careful, methodical individual,
takes his time with everything, since the journey is as important as
the destination, every step in a journey is of equal value, etc etc
etc.

If the mountain trail is 10 miles long, and he takes 10 hours to travel
this distance, then he is plodding along at 1 mph each way. reaching
the halfway point, the 5 mile marker at 11 am.

This only holds true if there is one path up and down the mountain, and
if he travels straight from point A to B and back, not taking any side
routes or walking past the destination and backtracking.

=====
Mike Lorrey
"Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                                       - Gen. John Stark
"Fascists are objectively pro-pacifist..."
                                       - Mike Lorrey
Do not label me, I am an ism of one...
Sado-Mikeyism: http://mikeysoft.zblogger.com

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