1 in an infinity

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Antonio Terra
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Re: 1 in an infinity

Post by Antonio Terra »

By normal laws of probability, it would be 1/infinite (one divided by infinite).
I am not an expert, but my understanding is that one divided by infinite would give you a possibility qual to the "lowest number different from zero".
SInce such number theoretically does not exist, the calculation would be impossible, and would result in something like:
0,0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000...
A repeting decimal with no real number that we can see at the end. It is so close to zero that you could do a numerical aproximation that is closer to reality than any other numerical aproximation (excluding others that have X,0000... or X,9999...).
However, i'm not sure if this scenario is logicaly possible even within the realm of hipothesis.
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Mark1955
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Re: 1 in an infinity

Post by Mark1955 »

Read "The Hitchikers guide to the Galaxy" it explains it all; but remember to take your towel with you.

From a more serious persective, infinity is not a number it is a philosophical concept [otherwise you could have infinity plus 1]. We do maths with numbers and philosophy with concepts. Would you try to enumerate empathy.
If you think you know the answer you probably don't understand the question.
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Mark1955
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Re: 1 in an infinity

Post by Mark1955 »

Of course if you wanted to be silly you could write 0.01 and put a 'reoccurring' dot over the 0 after the decimal point.
If you think you know the answer you probably don't understand the question.
Steve3007
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Re: 1 in an infinity

Post by Steve3007 »

Mark1955 wrote:...infinity is not a number it is a philosophical concept [otherwise you could have infinity plus 1]. We do maths with numbers and philosophy with concepts...
And yet we do indeed do maths with infinities. See, for example, Cantor sets. We do useful maths with all sorts of strange concepts, like the apparently non-existent square-roots of negative numbers.
Steve3007
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Re: 1 in an infinity

Post by Steve3007 »

Steve3007 wrote:I'm going to go with zero. Is there a follow-up question?


I have one: If you randomly pick one of the infinite set of all real numbers what is the probability that it will also be one of the infinite set of natural numbers or integers? What is the probability that it will be one of the infinite set of even numbers?
To answer my own follow-up question:

Tending to zero.

The infinite set of all real numbers is infinitely bigger than the infinite set of integers. The infinite set of integers is the same size as the infinite set of even numbers.
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Antonio Terra
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Re: 1 in an infinity

Post by Antonio Terra »

Steve3007 wrote: May 9th, 2019, 10:40 am
Steve3007 wrote:I'm going to go with zero. Is there a follow-up question?


I have one: If you randomly pick one of the infinite set of all real numbers what is the probability that it will also be one of the infinite set of natural numbers or integers? What is the probability that it will be one of the infinite set of even numbers?
To answer my own follow-up question:

Tending to zero.

The infinite set of all real numbers is infinitely bigger than the infinite set of integers. The infinite set of integers is the same size as the infinite set of even numbers.
There are many who don't quite agree with Cantor, but he is indeed accepted by most mathematicians.
Don't you guys think that mathematicians need to deal with concepts, since numbers are all concepts?
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Mark1955
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Re: 1 in an infinity

Post by Mark1955 »

Steve3007 wrote: May 9th, 2019, 10:33 am
Mark1955 wrote:...infinity is not a number it is a philosophical concept [otherwise you could have infinity plus 1]. We do maths with numbers and philosophy with concepts...
And yet we do indeed do maths with infinities. See, for example, Cantor sets. We do useful maths with all sorts of strange concepts, like the apparently non-existent square-roots of negative numbers.
Fair point, but infinity in a Cantor set just means don't stop doing this, it isn't a thing so much as an instruction. By comparison the square roots of negative numbers have values and can be and are manipulated accordingly. That one 'rule' of maths says they can't exist just suggets that the 'rules' aren't alwasy as simple as they seem; or more to the point, as we'd prefer them to be.
If you think you know the answer you probably don't understand the question.
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sebam83
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Re: 1 in an infinity

Post by sebam83 »

Math says the answer is zero (1/infinity= 0, Infinity/infinity=1) but i see the deeper meaning behind this question. Humans tend to fear a lot of things which have a quasi zero probability and there are people winning in lottery who could think zero winning chances but they won. The question is: Do you believe in probability. It explains so little, somehow zero and is a concept without much meaning and also a deep question in quantum Mechanics where i belong to the people who believe in the hidden variables. In Games people have a list of skills and luck is a skill like strength which can be increased. Destiny, love, karma are for example concepts beyond probability. I would see you have a real chance of picking the red marble if it is yours
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