In the 5th century BC Greek philosopher Parmenides proposed that the universe was not made of many things, but rather is a single indivisible substance, an eternal now that encompasses all time and all entities.

公元前 5 世紀，希臘哲學家巴門尼德提出，宇宙並不是由許多事物組成的，而是一個不可分割的單一物質，一個包含所有時間和所有實體的永恆的現在。

And if the universe is one, then all change is impossible, for the very idea of change suggests something transforming from one state to another, but since according to Parmenides all states occur simultaneously, change is impossible.

如果宇宙是一個整體，那麼所有的變化都是不可能的，因為 "變化 "這一概念本身就意味著某種事物從一種狀態轉變為另一種狀態，但根據巴門尼德的觀點，所有狀態都是同時發生的，是以變化是不可能的。

After receiving heavy criticism from his contemporaries, Parmenides' student Zeno of Aelia came to his defense by creating a series of paradoxes that seek to prove that time and change are, in fact, utter nonsense.

在受到同時代人的猛烈抨擊後，巴門尼德的學生芝諾（Zeno of Aelia）為他辯護，提出了一系列悖論，試圖證明時間和變化其實是一派胡言。

Consider a situation in which a motorcyclist races a man on foot.

考慮一下摩托車手與步行者賽跑的情況。

Let's assume the man is given a 50 meter head start.

讓我們假設該男子領先 50 米。

By the time the motorcyclist reaches the 50 meter mark, the man will have moved a small distance forward, and when the motorcyclist catches up to the ensuing spot, the man will have moved farther still.

當摩托車手到達 50 米處時，該男子已經向前移動了一小段距離，而當摩托車手追上隨後的位置時，該男子又向前移動了一段距離。

If there are an infinite number of measurable distances between any two points, the man will always be a minute distance ahead of the biker.

如果任意兩點之間有無數個可測量的距離，那麼人總是比騎車人早一分鐘。

This then will go on indefinitely, and the biker will never catch the man.

這樣下去，騎自行車的人永遠也抓不到那個人。

But this is absurd, for our perceptions tell us the motorcyclist would quickly overtake the man.

但這是荒謬的，因為我們的感知告訴我們，摩托車手會很快超過那個人。

Therefore, Zeno's paradox tells us that our perceptions are flawed, and that a change in distance is preposterous.

是以，芝諾悖論告訴我們，我們的感知是有缺陷的，距離的改變是荒謬的。

In another of his paradoxes, Zeno talks of an arrow being shot at a target.

在芝諾的另一個悖論中，他談到一支箭被射中了目標。

If it takes the arrow one second to travel 60 feet, it would take 0.5 seconds to travel half that distance, a quarter second to travel half that distance, and so on.

如果箭頭飛行 60 英尺需要 1 秒鐘，那麼飛行一半的距離需要 0.5 秒鐘，飛行一半的距離需要 1/4 秒鐘，以此類推。

If this process continues, we will eventually reach a unit of time during which the arrow will occupy a space at complete rest.

如果這個過程繼續下去，我們最終會到達一個時間組織、部門，在這個時間組織、部門內，箭頭將佔據一個完全靜止的空間。

Let's call this unit of durationless time a moment.

讓我們把這個無持續時間組織、部門稱為 "瞬間"。

If the arrow's trajectory is the sum of these stationary moments, then how will the arrow ever reach its target?

如果箭的軌跡是這些靜止力矩的總和，那麼箭怎麼會到達目標呢？

And thus, motion is nonsensical.

是以，運動是毫無意義的。

Zeno's paradoxes have challenged scholars, philosophers, and mathematicians for over 2,500 years.

2500 多年來，芝諾悖論一直是學者、哲學家和數學家的難題。

If nothing else, they force us to continuously reconsider our reasoning about the nature of space and time.

如果不出意外，它們會迫使我們不斷重新思考我們對空間和時間本質的推理。