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Test your intuition

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Test your intuition

#1

Test your intuition

How dependable is your gut feel?

Imagine that the Earth were a perfect sphere, and an unstretchable string was laid on its surface along the equator.

Now, add 50' to the length of that string, and use that additional length to lift the string up off of the surface of the Earth a uniform height all around.

WITHOUT trying to figure out the numbers or how you would solve it, do you think the space under the string will be:

A: Too small to be able to fit a piece of typing paper under it

B: Large enough for the typing paper, but not for your hand

C: Large enough for your hand

D: High enough for you to crawl under

E: High enough to walk under

Now, figure out the answer, and compare to your intuition.

How did you do?

Re: Test your intuition

#2

Re: Test your intuition

Well, assuming the string in question is both unstretchable and rigid (not to mention a perfectly spherical Earth) the answer would be "E" (unless you happen to fit into a category of certain pituitary giants). The answer is as easy as pi, although it might take two of them to reach it.

Fred

under cloudless skies in Eastern Missouri

Re: Test your intuition

#3

Wrong

Because that wasn't the question. ;-)

The question was how your figured out answer compared to your intuition.

For me, the answer was "not very well".

(Your answer was correct for another question, but I was hoping to let people guess at an answer without figuring it out.)

Re: Test your intuition

#4

Maybe I'm the only one

whose gut let him down on this one?

Frederic posted the correct answer, E. But even knowing the right answer, my intuition revolts. It seems like it should be A or B. And usually, my "gut feel" is pretty good -- if an answer doesn't feel right, I will check my work very carefully.

I'm sure the math, not my intuition, is right here.

Re: Test your intuition

#5

Re: Maybe I'm the only one

I think the interesting thing is that the answer does not depend on the initial radius. So whether you start with a ping pong ball, or the earth, adding 50' to the circumference results in the same increase in radius. I find this to be extremely counter-intuitive.

👍 This page answered my questions

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