Will Vanheim Ever Become Spayed?

[PhilD]

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.

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.