maybe impossible but

[fetish101]

Well, not a genius..you've just been out of high school math class longer than me (also, I have taken many math courses such as linear algebra and single/multi variable calculus as requirements of my degree). You proved my point though, it would not be fair to use that sort of question and that's why I used them to demonstrate why Mobius' idea was inherently flawed.

Also, in case anyone gives two shits..here's the answers!!

1)what shape on a 2 dimensional graph do you get when you intersect a flat plane and a double napped cone parallel to the generator?

This one's trickier than the second one. It actually has 2 separate cases that should be included in a full answer. If the plane intersects parallel to the generator (the generator is the line with the angle theta in the diagram), it will slice either the top cone or the bottom cone into a shape known as a parabola (this has the general form equation Y = aX^2 + b). The degenerate form of this is when a = 0 and therefore Y = b, making it a straight line.

2) what is the degenerate form of an elipse?

This question is not too hard, once you understand what an elipse means. An elipse is the effect of intersecting a flat planar surface with a cone, at an angle greater than the vertex angle, but less than 90 degrees (which would be making a circle). The degenerate form of this is when the plane intersects the double napped cone at the vertex, making a point, or single event. A point is an event--the intersection of an event's past and future is itself.