A (male) Mathematician and a (male) Engineer who knew each other, had both been invited to the same party. They were standing at one corner of the room and eyeing a particularly attractive girl in the opposite corner.
'Wow, she looks pretty good,' said the Engineer. 'I think I'll go over there and try my luck.'
'Impossible, and out of the question!' said the Mathematician, who was thinking much the same but wasn't as forthright.
'And why is it impossible?' asked the Engineer belligerently.
'Because,' said the Mathematician, thinking quickly, 'In order to get to her, you will firrst have to get halfway. And then you will have to get half of the rest of the distance, and then half of that. And so on; in short, you can never get there in a finite number of moves.'
The Engineer gave a cheerful grin.
'Maybe so,' he replied, 'But in a finite number of moves, I can get as close as I need to be for all practical purposes.'
And he made his moves.
'Wow, she looks pretty good,' said the Engineer. 'I think I'll go over there and try my luck.'
'Impossible, and out of the question!' said the Mathematician, who was thinking much the same but wasn't as forthright.
'And why is it impossible?' asked the Engineer belligerently.
'Because,' said the Mathematician, thinking quickly, 'In order to get to her, you will firrst have to get halfway. And then you will have to get half of the rest of the distance, and then half of that. And so on; in short, you can never get there in a finite number of moves.'
The Engineer gave a cheerful grin.
'Maybe so,' he replied, 'But in a finite number of moves, I can get as close as I need to be for all practical purposes.'
And he made his moves.
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