In the Eclipse novel two of the characters, Edward being one of them, shake their heads ‘infinitesimally’.
Particle physicists have strived for decades to unravel the mysteries behind the unmeasurable shake of the head, declaring it officially uncalculable or so close to zero, that sentence negation is sucked back into an affirmative vortex.
This however has not deterred our heros from putting this gesture into action, particularly in cases where senseless ambiguity and subtle incomprehension are called for. And let’s face it – there are many questions to which a boring yes or no answer will not suffice. Let’s take a simple conversation between two idiots:
Idiot 1: “Would you like a pancake?”
Idiot 2: Shakes head infinitesimally.
Idiot 1: “Would you like a pancake?”
So, how close to zero can you shake your head?
Illustrated Shorts 