POLL: Here's a question from a Critical Thinking class I recently took.

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Feb 15, 2019
11:41:11am

JayOwen Gie's a break

POLL: Here's a question from a Critical Thinking class I recently took.

At sunrise a nun leaves her monastery at the base of a mountain and walks on a narrow path to a small shrine atop the mountain. She arrives at the summit exactly at sundown. The next day, she rises again at sunrise, leaves the shrine, and descends back down to her monastery following the exact same path she took up the mountain. She arrives at the monastery exactly at sundown.

Estimate the probability the nun passed some point on the path at the same time on both days.

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JayOwen

Previous username: Kirkintilloch
Bio page: JayOwen
Joined: Jul 31, 2004
Last login: May 4, 2024
Total posts: 41,269 (26,493 FO)

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Messages

Author

Time

POLL: Here's a question from a Critical Thinking class I recently took.

JayOwen Gie's a break

2/15/19 11:41am

An African or European nun?

Sea Chicken

2/15/19 11:42am

South American

JayOwen

2/15/19 11:43am

I'm just impressed that she can climb and descend at (close to) identical rates.

2/15/19 11:45am

The goal of the question was to check what assumptions people make and how well they can explain their

JayOwen

2/15/19 11:45am

Is this a comparison of solar time to the 24-hour clock?

scootsy

2/15/19 11:47am

no

JayOwen

2/15/19 11:48am

Pics?

2/15/19 11:50am

RE: Pics?

Frank Castiglione

2/15/19 11:52am

RE: Pics?

soupie

2/15/19 2:03pm

Highly unlikely but not impossible.

SLC-Warrior

2/15/19 11:52am

There is only one place where she can do this

USMCdad

2/15/19 11:56am

what am I missing? doesn't it have to be 100%?

The Shazad

2/15/19 11:57am

Same time not same path

USMCdad

2/15/19 11:58am

the question says same path

The Shazad

2/15/19 12:01pm

But she has to hit the same part of the path at the same exact time

USMCdad

2/15/19 12:19pm

Imagine the nun's ghost coming up while she's climbing down. Wherever they

swimbro

2/15/19 12:24pm

True I guess the time of day doesn’t matter

USMCdad

2/15/19 12:30pm

But in that case they are constantly on each other the entire time on the trail

USMCdad

2/15/19 12:31pm

Wouldn't they be going opposite directions?

whirl

2/15/19 2:12pm

It is 100%. Imagine her ghost or a friend or whatever.

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 12:00pm

This was my thought as well. If they leave at the same time, at some point they

Mikey

2/15/19 12:07pm

I understand it as same time of day, not crossing paths.

crazY

2/15/19 12:29pm

You can't cross paths without being at the same spot at the same time.

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 12:31pm

That's not true.

crazY

2/15/19 1:15pm

It’s both. Same place at the same time. It has to happen at least once.

Jay Rick

2/15/19 12:37pm

Not without backtracking so technically it would be possible

USMCdad

2/15/19 12:42pm

that's not the question though, it's considering 1 person's movement on the trail on 2 days, not 2 people's on 1 day

byujag

2/15/19 12:38pm

You're way over thinking this. The easiest is to realize that it's the same

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 12:48pm

I get your argument and agree with it, I just think you're fundamentally changing the original question

byujag

2/15/19 12:51pm

I'm really not. It really is the same question.

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 12:55pm

You're completely ignoring the "same time" part of it.

Byron McNertney

2/15/19 1:10pm

How could it not be the same time if they are face to face?

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 1:21pm

RE: How could it not be the same time if they are face to face?

crazY

2/15/19 1:23pm

Same time *on both days*

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:25pm

Meant for left shark

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:26pm

I really can't make this any more painfully obvious than I already have.

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 1:27pm

Thanks for being condescending, but you clearly have a different interpretation

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:38pm

100%, yes. Still the same question.

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 1:43pm

No, it's not. Your answer works with both a moving point in space and different

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:59pm

and there will be one point on the path where they will match

The Shazad

2/15/19 2:03pm

Why are you pre-selecting a point? Just look at the point where they both match.

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 2:05pm

RE: Why are you pre-selecting a point? Just look at the point where they both

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 2:08pm

It's crazy that YOU don't get it.

crazY

2/15/19 1:44pm

Ok, calm down. If she's face to face with her ghost,

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 1:58pm

On both days?

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 2:00pm

Is she face to face with her ghost? If she is, the both watches should be

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 2:02pm

If she and her ghost ascend and descend on consecutive days, do they meet at the

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 2:07pm

Perhaps if we use an illustration you WILL understand...

Breaded Hamster

2/15/19 4:13pm

The only thing that matters with sunrise and sunset is that it guarantees that

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 5:21pm

I wrote this over 2 hours before you wrote the post I'm replying to

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 7:03pm

Yes sir.

crazY

2/15/19 2:00pm

Think of it this way.

Left Shark Coug

2/15/19 1:03pm

That's a clever explanation, but that's not the question

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:08pm

I think you have proven yourself a true bsu bronco on this thread.

shimmy

2/15/19 4:15pm

Fair enough.

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 4:19pm

Yep. That’s how I read it.

Jay Rick

2/15/19 12:05pm

the scenario assumes too much to predict that it will happen with any certainty

byujag

2/15/19 12:05pm

<< Deleted >>

Q-grr

2/15/19 12:05pm

If she ascended on the spring equinox and descended on the fall equinox it would

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 12:34pm

Not exactly. The shift in day length isn’t linear.

Breaded Hamster

2/15/19 12:48pm

The fact that she arrived at her destination *exactly* at sundown on both days

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 12:59pm

pace is irrelevant

The Shazad

2/15/19 1:05pm

But that's not the question. The question is "Estimate the probability the nun

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:07pm

then integrate that probability across the full path, and you get 100%

The Shazad

2/15/19 1:11pm

The question isn't whether they'll cross, it's whether they're at the same point

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:14pm

if you cross on the same path, then you're at the same point at the same time

The Shazad

2/15/19 1:20pm

Not on both days

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:24pm

Haha, no you're not. Timing of breaks, variance in pace throughout the day, etc.

Byron McNertney

2/15/19 1:24pm

see the ghost comparison above - day and pace make no difference

The Shazad

2/15/19 1:28pm

Yes it does. The question is about the time, not the crossing of paths.

Byron McNertney

2/15/19 1:20pm

seriously? am I missing a joke like I did with The Greenrake?

The Shazad

2/15/19 1:23pm

Huh? There's only one nun. She's not going to be face-to-face with herself.

Byron McNertney

2/15/19 1:34pm

it asks if she'd pass the same point on the trail.....

The Shazad

2/15/19 1:42pm

I'm wrong. I was ignoring the parameters of start and stop times. You're right.

Byron McNertney

2/15/19 1:44pm

Yep, she'd have to pass the same tree at exactly 12:03:42 both days. Unlikely.

Byron McNertney

2/15/19 1:18pm

Doubtful.

pink22

2/15/19 3:24pm

Swimbro's ghost consideration helps to visualize it happening 100%.

Q-grr

2/15/19 1:15pm

It's 100% that they'll cross paths, but that's not the question. The question

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:17pm

You run down as fast as you can, and I will hop, skip walk backwards and change

Q-grr

2/15/19 1:22pm

That's great, but it's not whether or not the paths cross. It's whether or not

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:25pm

It isn't Quantum Leap. The travel path will intersect at a single moment in time

Q-grr

2/15/19 1:34pm

I agree, but that's not the question. Does she cross the exact same millimeter

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:41pm

Select a person to replicate her exact moves up the day she is decending.

Q-grr

2/15/19 1:55pm

stops for lunch from 12-1 at the shrine midway

calcio

2/15/19 1:09pm

I like it! Except she'd have to stop somewhere between the monastery and shrine

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 1:10pm

Bad choice of words. Maybe a McDonalds, sit in same booth?

calcio

2/15/19 1:56pm

This is my favorite answer, by the way!

Dread Pirate Westley

2/15/19 2:07pm

it appears this is a great question for a critical thinking class

byujag

2/15/19 1:27pm

Haha, yep, the question did it's job.

Breaded Hamster

2/15/19 1:28pm

These are the sorts of threads that make me start a culling of my FO list

supertux

2/15/19 4:21pm

"some point"

BertoChavez

2/15/19 4:46pm

Just saw this. I hacked you in a new thread.

supertux

2/15/19 5:22pm

Their paths HAVE to cross

2/17/19 1:21pm

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