A traveller starts out from the Earth's equator, heading exactly northeast. Undeterred by mountains, oceans and political boundaries, he continues on a northeasterly heading until he can go no further.

Where does he end up?

How far did he go?

How many times did he circumnavigate the earth? (For these purposes, this means travel through 360 degrees of longitude.)

(In reply to re(6): Doesn't matter. by friedlinguini)

Those of you who have compared my analysis of the distance involved to Xeno's paradoxes may have a point, and I'm willing to examine the possibility that the distance is finite. But I still suspect that the only reason that "in real life" such a traveller would eventually reach the Pole is that he is not a 0-demensional point. Rather like a moth spiralling into a flame, once he got close enough, it wouldn't matter that he didn't touch the "heart."

Posted by TomM on 2002-09-26 11:37:10