Øystein vs Archimedes: A Note on Linnebo’s Infinite Balance

Erkenntnis 88 (4):1791-1796 (2023)
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Abstract

Using Riemann’s Rearrangement Theorem, Øystein Linnebo (2020) argues that, if it were possible to apply an infinite positive weight and an infinite negative weight to a working scale, the resulting net weight could end up being any real number, depending on the procedure by which these weights are applied. Appealing to the First Postulate of Archimedes’ treatise on balance, I argue instead that the scale would always read 0 kg. Along the way, we stop to consider an infinitely jittery flea, an infinitely protracted border conflict, and an infinitely electric glass rod.

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Daniel Hoek
Virginia Tech

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