Welcome to the first newsletter of Find Curiosity. The goal is to discover and do interesting things.

The format is simple, something to learn, do, watch and ask.

Today includes:

I came across this weird paradox about infinity this week, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

Imagine you’re standing 10 meters from a wall. You walk halfway there, so now you’re 5 meters away. Then you walk halfway again, and you’re 2.5 meters away. Then 1.25. Then 0.625. You can keep doing this forever. No matter how close you get, there’s always another halfway point between you and the wall.

Which raises a pretty obvious question: If there are an infinite number of halfway points between you and the wall, how do you ever actually reach the wall?

This is Zeno’s paradox, and people have been messing with this idea for about 2,500 years. At first it sounds like a dumb philosophical trick because obviously you can walk 10 meters and hit the wall. But then you look at the math and realize there really are an infinite number of points you could pass through.

The weird part is that an infinite number of things can still add up to a finite amount. Take the distances we just walked: 5 meters, then 2.5, then 1.25, then 0.625, and so on. You could keep adding smaller and smaller distances forever, and the total still equals exactly 10 meters. There isn't a "last" step, but you still somehow get there.

I think that's what makes infinity so strange. We use it like it's just another number, but it's really more like an idea about something that never ends. You can always divide something one more time. You can always add one more number. There is never a final halfway point.

...And somehow, that never-ending process still walks you straight into a wall.

Zeno wasn't wrong about the math. There is an infinite number of steps between you and the wall. He just assumed that meant you couldn't move.

But you can move. You just can't think about all 10 meters at once — you can only ever do the next half.

That's true of basically anything big enough to feel impossible. The finished book, the built company, the paid-off debt, the changed life. From where you're standing, it looks like it's made of infinite steps, and infinite steps feels like a reason not to start. But you were never asked to cover the whole 10 meters in one move. You were only ever asked for the next half.

Form me "walk by faith, not by sight" is I may not get to see the whole 10 meters. I don't get the finished path laid out in front of me. I just get the next half-step and I have to move on that alone, trusting God with everything I can't yet see.

You don't have to see the end to start walking. You just have to take the next half-step in faith and trust that God makes those add up to a wall.

Did you know you can own your digital movies and TV shows instead of paying for Netflix?

For about $500 you can build your own personal streaming library.

Red dirt, dinosaurs, and a good time.

If you could have dinner with yourself at any age, what age would you choose?