this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2024
549 points (92.6% liked)

Technology

59495 readers
3050 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related content.
  3. Be excellent to each another!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

The question that everyone has been dying to know has been answered. Finally! What will scientists study next?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] adarza@lemmy.ca 16 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

from the wiki article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_monkey_theorem

If there were as many monkeys as there are atoms in the observable universe typing extremely fast for trillions of times the life of the universe, the probability of the monkeys replicating even a single page of Shakespeare is unfathomably small.

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 36 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

... the probability of the monkeys replicating even a single page of Shakespeare is unfathomably small.

But not zero.

[–] CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Basically nothing is ever truly zero

[–] nightwatch_admin@feddit.nl 23 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Someone wiser than me already said that it already has happened: 1 ape did, in fact, write the complete works of Shakespeare.

[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)
[–] nightwatch_admin@feddit.nl 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Fair enough. I wouldn’t want to insult the Librarian.

[–] Klear@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

monkey c monkey do

[–] CommanderCloon@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Apes are monkeys though, just like we're apes and birds are dinosaurs

[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

We are apes and birds are dinosaurs, but monkeys and apes are distinct categories under primates so no, apes are not monkeys.

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] CeeBee_Eh@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago
[–] Cryophilia@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

The probability of lots of things is zero. The probability of a monkey typing a Chinese character on an English keyboard is zero.

Similar idea: there are an infinite amount of numbers between zero and one, but none of those numbers is two.

[–] Ookami38@sh.itjust.works 10 points 3 weeks ago

Weird how neither of those numbers are infinities. Almost like the numbers used are unfathomably small in comparison.

[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

So you’re telling me… there’s a chance!

Sorry, I’m sort of lampooning comments like the one above and below you where people just can’t resist focusing on the possibility, no matter how ridiculously remote it seems. For myself, there’s a point of “functionally zero odds” that I’m willing to accept and move on with my life.

[–] Rivalarrival@lemmy.today 3 points 3 weeks ago

so you're saying there's a chance...

[–] ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 3 weeks ago

So you're saying there's a chance.