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View Full Version : Ridiculus Debate of the century!



blackmage_nuke
01-22-2010, 10:23 PM
Let us say theoretically you have a perfect sphere and you are using it as a dice, would it be a D1 or a D∞?

Ie:
If you were to use a sphere as a dice would you consider it a one sided dice (always rolls the number 1) or an infinite sided dice (can roll any positive integer)

Suggested arguements:
A D∞ is impossible
A D1 is useless

Shoeberto
01-22-2010, 10:29 PM
Assuming it was actually, by some magic, a perfect sphere, it would be an infinity sided die, imo.

qwertysaur
01-22-2010, 10:29 PM
Yes

Madame Adequate
01-22-2010, 11:20 PM
Both.

Aerith's Knight
01-22-2010, 11:33 PM
It would be infinite, and infinitely useless.

Vermachtnis
01-23-2010, 12:17 AM
I'd roll a one with the infinite dice.

Bunny
01-23-2010, 12:29 AM
I would just throw it at people.

Old Manus
01-23-2010, 12:31 AM
A theoretically perfect sphere would have theoretically one side as there would be no minute flat areas which would constitute a seperate side

G13
01-23-2010, 12:43 AM
I say infinity but what do I know, I'm a moron. :p

Raistlin
01-23-2010, 01:25 AM
Assuming it was actually, by some magic, a perfect sphere, it would be an infinity sided die, imo.

Yeah. A sphere by definition contains infinite points.

qwertysaur
01-23-2010, 01:43 AM
And the probability of getting a specific side is 1/∞ which is 0 :p

Levian
01-23-2010, 01:48 AM
You can't write infinity numbers on a dice :colbert: Not if you want to use it anyway.

AntRid
01-23-2010, 02:56 AM
Can you have a 1 sided die? Wouldn’t that just be a lotto ball?

Rantz
01-23-2010, 02:58 AM
It depends on how tiny numbers you can paint.

blackmage_nuke
01-23-2010, 03:03 AM
Well they would have to be infinitely small and you would have to believe a sphere is made up of infinite flat surfaces with infinitesimal areas rather than having no flat surfaces at all

Tavrobel
01-23-2010, 05:00 AM
Can you have a 1 sided die? Wouldn’t that just be a lotto ball?

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/random_number.png

Dignified Pauper
01-23-2010, 05:46 AM
technically, for layman's purposes, Manus is right. It only has 1 side. There is nothing separating the sides from anything else. Technically, dice have infinite points on them, but nothing defies where on "side" begins and ends - there's just the external layer that is perfectly smooth and would be 1 side.

From a physic's perspective, the sphere has as many sides as it has atoms composing the outmost layer - and because that amount is dependent upon the sphere, if it is remotely capable of being seen with the naked eye, then we can, for clarity's sake, say it is infinite. But still, it's just ONE side. Those are just individual points upon that side.

Meat Puppet
01-23-2010, 06:10 AM
The debate of the century is why everyone labels their debate the debate of the century.

blackmage_nuke
01-23-2010, 06:35 AM
Fine I lied, this is really just filler while im waiting for the next "does 0.999... = 1" thread

Jiro
01-23-2010, 08:08 AM
I thought we already proved that a million times. And by we, I mean all of the smart people which doesn't include me.

qwertysaur
01-23-2010, 08:58 AM
No because to prove something as true in math, you must disprove it is false. :doublecolbert:

NorthernChaosGod
01-23-2010, 12:39 PM
Going way back to geometry, when you compare the shapes of the various regular polygons, the higher and higher the number of sides, the more and more it looks like a circle. A circle is a regular polygon with an infinite number of sides, no?

Raistlin
01-23-2010, 05:55 PM
Fine I lied, this is really just filler while im waiting for the next "does 0.999... = 1" thread

Oh man I love those threads.

rubah
01-23-2010, 06:10 PM
Going way back to geometry, when you compare the shapes of the various regular polygons, the higher and higher the number of sides, the more and more it looks like a circle. A circle is a regular polygon with an infinite number of sides, no?
Pretty much. (I came up with this conclusion in 3rd grade, and I attribute to it whatever success I've had in calculus)

As for having one side, it's trivial to divide the circle into hemispheres, and subdivide it from there. It will eventually come to a stop even if it has no sharp corners, and from there will behave like a typical die.