You have an empty container, and an infinite number of marbles, each numbered with an integer from 1 to infinity.

At the start of the minute, you put marbles 1 - 10 into the container, then remove one of the marbles and throw it away. You do this again after 30 seconds, then again in 15 seconds, and again in 7.5 seconds. You continuosly repeat this process, each time after half as long an interval as the time before, until the minute is over.

Since this means that you repeated the process an infinite number of times, you have "processed" all your marbles.

How many marbles are in the container at the end of the minute if for every repetition (numbered N)

A. You remove the marble numbered (10 * N)

B. You remove the marble numbered (N)

(In reply to re: solution by Cory Taylor)

I believe you have the right of it, but since I also come from an engineering background I am also sure that the high priests of calculus will cast down us non-believers.

I noticed many or your arguments were struck down by platitudes that you (we for that matter) don't understand the difference between 'stopped processing' and 'no longer processing'. While I admit they are not precisely the same for this purpose the difference seems to be of no consequence. It was dismissively labeled as non sequitur. However as you were neither affirming the consequent, or denying the antecedent, and it certainly logically follows that when you have "processed" ALL your marbles that you have indeed stopped. (ok, you could start over but that wouldn't change the fact that you had completed a cycle, and could now numerate the iterations) Ergo it is not non sequitur. Maybe they forgot to mention the magic quantum marble accelerator with Phantom Power (TM) :)

Posted by John on 2003-12-24 19:29:11