Entries from Thursday, July 5. 2007

  • July, 2007
  • a thought experiment with time

    Here is a thought experiment that I was trying out today.

    Question

    Assume that we are in a society where there is no concept of time. You have to meet a friend. How do you two sync up so that you can meet each other. Remember that you do not have a concept of time, hence you cannot tell him 'meet me below the fourth coconut tree at 3 PM today'.

    Answer (one of the many)

    One answer that I think might be feasible is that you tell your friend that you will let off a firecracker (or some signaling device) when you leave your home and you will let off a firecracker after every 500 meters.

    Applications of this problem

    How do ants sync up between themselves ? i.e. how do they decide 'this is the time the house owner makes tea and spills some milk on the counter'

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