Paradox of the millet load

The paradox of the falling millet by the Greek philosopher Zenon von Elea is, in contrast to his other paradoxes , a mere logical proof of the limits of perception.

If a falling load of millet makes a noise, so does every single grain. For if the grain makes no noise, neither does the feeder. Because the size of the grain is related to the size of the fudge. The same must then apply to the noises.

This is not a paradox, but the logical proof that small falling bodies produce noises that cannot be heard.

A single falling millet grain actually makes a sound. However, the human sense of hearing cannot perceive this sound. The cause of this phenomenon is the sensitivity of the human sense of hearing, which is also known as the hearing threshold .

Web links

• Nick Huggett:  The grain of Millet. In: Edward N. Zalta (Ed.): Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy . (Section in the article on Zeno's Paradoxes )