
"The fastest human in the world, according to the Ancient Greek legend, was the heroine Atalanta. Although she was a famous huntress who joined Jason and the Argonauts in the search for the golden fleece, she was most renowned for the one avenue in which she surpassed all other humans: her speed. While many boasted of how swift or fleet-footed they were, Atalanta outdid them all. No one possessed the capabilities to defeat her in a fair footrace."
"To go from her starting point to her destination, Atalanta must first travel half of the total distance. To travel the remaining distance, she must first travel half of what's left over. No matter how small a distance is still left, she must travel half of it, and then half of what's still remaining, and so on, ad infinitum. With an infinite number of steps required to get there, clearly she can never complete the journey. And hence, Zeno states, motion is impossible: Zeno's paradox."
Atalanta was a legendary Greek heroine famed for unmatched speed who refused marriage unless a suitor could outrun her. She joined Jason and the Argonauts as a huntress yet remained most renowned for her running. Zeno of Elea formulated a paradox using her as an example, arguing that she must traverse half the remaining distance repeatedly, ad infinitum, creating infinitely many required steps. The paradox concludes that with infinitely many steps she could never complete the journey, implying motion is impossible. A mathematical solution notes that the infinitely many distances form a convergent series, summing to a finite total. Physics further confirms motion by describing continuous time and motion dynamics that allow completion despite infinite subdivision.
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