POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.binaries.images : Random Google Challenge : Re: Random Google Challenge Server Time
3 Aug 2024 06:12:16 EDT (-0400)
  Re: Random Google Challenge  
From: Ben Chambers
Date: 2 Feb 2007 04:01:02
Message: <45c2fdce@news.povray.org>
Stephen wrote:
> Jellby <me### [at] privacynet> wrote:
>> I believe it was just "a room full of chimps" or something similar.

Whether it's a room full of chimps typing long enough, or an infinite 
number of chimps is irrelevant.  The important part is infinity, either 
of time or of chimps.



Well, they DO take it seriously, as a maxim of probability.

> wrong. If things are truly random there is no guarantee that you ever will
> get what you want.

That's why the infinite part is important - either there are an infinite 
number of chimps, or an infinite timeframe, but either way that infinity 
throws normal probability out the window.

No matter how probable something is, as long as it is possible, throwing 
in an infinity makes it a certainty.  That is, as long as P>0, then an 
infinite number of chances will result in P=1.

...Chambers


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