The computation tells us there are exactly two times when the missile is at ground level. One time is 0.4939 . . . seconds ago. That’s when the missile was launched. The other time is 40.4939 . . . seconds from now. That’s when the missile lands. Perhaps it doesn’t seem so troubling, especially if you’re used to the quadratic formula, to get two answers to the same question. But when you’re twelve it represents a real philosophical shift. You’ve spent six long years in grade school figuring out what the answer is, and now, suddenly, there is no such thing. And those are just quadratic
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