Actually, don't parallel rays emerge from a point REALLY far away? :-)
Assuming Euclidean geometry.
No. If you assume Euclidean geometry they never merge, but always remain
parallel - a set distance apart. At the time they didn't even draw with
perspective. Euclid never believed in 0 (and the opposite, infinity) and
actually had a Euclidean society member "walk the plank" and drown for
showing that 0 does exist.
For some fascinating reading, try "Zero, The Biography of a Dangerous Idea"
by Charles Seife and "To Infinity and Beyond, A Cultural History of the
Infinite" by Eli Maor. They give interesting insights into the cultural
biases of numbers and how we got to where we are today with our
understanding of something as "simple" as the number 0. Good reading even
if you really don't thrive on math.
gregg
Andrew
> can be designed so that parallel rays emerge from a virtual point
> farther away.
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