Comments by "Jason Dashney" (@jasondashney) on "Measuring Coastline - Numberphile" video.

  1. Fractals won't make it infinitely large, but that doesn't change the fact that if you have a 1 atom long ruler, that coastline could very well be absolutely unbelievably long.
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  2. Would you measure the "coastline" of a pair of scissors that were just a few degrees open? You'd be off by more than a third. Why should a coastline be different if it has a ton of inlets?
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  3. You'd have to measure the coastline all at once because tides, evaporation, even rain will change the size constantly.
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  4. Canada has another problem: What is "coastline"? Have fun with that where there is permanent ice in the north. You can live permanently on the ice, but not on "land"?
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  5. Or in Adams. Pick one and measure his height. That's your ruler.
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  6. I've seen 'official' measurements for coastlines that are wildly different. I mean 2-3x different.
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