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alexti said:
that's a simple geometric serie and the limit was known very long time ago, not sure if the fable predates this knowledge or not.
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Actually, the mathematical status of series, and infinites, and limits, was a problem until surprisingly recently. One version of the story was from Jean de La Fontaine, a 17th century French fabulist; at the same time, mathematicians knew how to take limits of sequences and series, but typically did not do this rigorously.