A Real Woodies Joke

[ubeaut]

THE MEASURE OF A TRUE WOODIE
Two friends, a woodie and a mathematician were together in a pub discussing a mathematical problem. On a table four metres away they had placed a carton of beer.

The problem was to get to the table by taking a first step of any size, the second step should then be half of the first, the third step half of the second, and so on.

The mathematician showed that he was truly a man of learning and figures by saying, “This is a geometric progression asymptotic to zero, and no matter how many steps you take you will never reach the table.”

With that the woodie jumped to his feet, leapt two metres, strode one metre, crept half a metre, leaned over, picked up the beer and in true woodie style, triumphantly declared, “Near enough is good enough!”


From our 1998 Woodworkers Calendar and Sourcebook Neil

[Ashore]

But surely if your first step was 2.66666' meters then your second step would be 1.333' meters thus covering the distance . there are several answers

First step 2.285714 meters
second 1.142857 Meters
third 0.5714285 meters


Dont yah just hate this





Don't take life too seriously; No one gets out alive.

[arose62]

If the first step was 4 metres, he'd get the beer straight away.

Presumably, the weight of the beer meant that the next step would only be half as long as the first, so he'd stop and drink one (or more).

Which would lead to the subsequent steps being of varying lengths, but of decreasing progress in the intended direction.

Cheers,
Andrew

[Harry72]

Not me I'd be heading the other way... to the bar "double jacks'n'coke in a schooner thanks" no maths involved!

[echnidna]

Don't matter if his feet don't ever touch the beer, that's why he's got arms!!!!!!!!

[Daddles]

This reminds me of a line from a Terry Pratchett novel

She loved a pint of something, particularly something that was usually sold in small glasses

Richard

[craigb]

This has got to take the prize for the oldest resurrected thread.

Neil originally posted it in 1999 :eek:

[silentC]

Yes, I remember '99. Y2K was all anyone in the 'puter bizz could talk about - that and the arguments about whether 2000 was the start of a new century and millenium or not (it wasn't)

And of course I had never met any of you lunatics yet either...

The world was a different place back then...

[flea1607]

Not me I'd be heading the other way... to the bar "double jacks'n'coke in a schooner thanks" no maths involved!

Im with you Harry never did like maths much.