Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

[RED-DOG]

Tal et al have been discussing the concept of infinity of late and it's got me thinking.

If infinity exists, does that mean that every random thing that could possibly happen will happen, and if so will there be a parallel universe containing a version of me that already grasps the concept of infinity?

Short answer:
Maybe.

Longer answer:
Definitely, yes.

Explanations will have to wait until I'm at a PC or someone else who geeks out over the quantum world arrives.

I don't understand the concept of an infinite number of universes, where every possible thing has happened.  Just doesn't make sense.

That'd mean there's a universe that has a world just like this, but it's made from stilton, and all the seas are full of Rowntree's jelly and everyone has 17 legs and the laws of physics are different so there's no friction and it rains rugby balls that turn into elephants when they hit the ground (stilton). 

Also, tikay is a news reader on babestation.

Tom, it also means that in one universe you are actually god and created the laws of physics and are married to Vicky Coren as well as every other woman on the planet, and most of the men.


The problem I have with an infinite number of universes where the laws of physics can be anything (and indeed everything), is that its unfalsifiable and therefore unscientific. It's philosophy or religion, or science fiction.

Even if the theory is fundamentally correct it still wouldn't result in any combination of any event - the number of universes tends towards infinity, so the probability tends to 1 but never reaches it.

Given the massive number involved, the tiny proportion representing what's left is so large that it would effectively rule out anything ... unusual. Such as Red Dog understanding infinity.

See. I just can't grasp concepts like "Tends towards infinity". Surely it's infinite, or it's not.

[kinboshi]

Yep, it's either big, very big, massively big - or infinite.  Can't be nearly infinite.

[doubleup]

The collective noun for giraffes is "a corps", apparently... I'm sure they deserve something better

[RED-DOG]

A reach of giraffes.

A sway of giraffes.

A stand of giraffes.

A canopy of giraffes.

A scaffold of giraffes.

[doubleup]

From that screencap, I was thinking "a vigilance of giraffes".

[Doobs]

An absurdity of giraffes.  Really are the freakiest looking things close up.

[Mohican]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corps
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/corpse

[Rod Paradise]

A couple of collective nouns I like (as they seem fitting) are a murder of crows (especially as yesterday a crow caught, killed & ate Whiskers, the mouse that lived by my back door and ate fallen food from the birdfeeder), and a charm of goldfinches.

[kinboshi]

A charge of rhinos.

[kinboshi]

A bad-beat of poker players.

[RED-DOG]

An absurdity of giraffes.  Really are the freakiest looking things close up.

Winner!

Imagine you're an early explorer and you stumble upon one of these for the first time....

[kinboshi]

An absurdity of giraffes.  Really are the freakiest looking things close up.

Winner!

Imagine you're an early explorer and you stumble upon one of these for the first time....

I'd stick my neck out and say someone was 'avin a laugh.

[Junior Senior]

a peep of chickens

a falling of doves

and the best ever.... an unkindness of Ravens

[Rod Paradise]

a peep of chickens

a falling of doves

and the best ever.... an unkindness of Ravens

I can't help but feel that's mean to Ravens,mainly because I really like them, I had one as a 'pet' i.e. he lived outside & was free to leave, but he stayed with us, he would fly down and land on my shoulder & preen at my hair, even when I didn't have food for him. Since this was at the time that The Omen (with the ravens killing people scene) was doing the rounds on video among the kids at school this gained me some street cred - and a lot of weird points too.

Funny enough though it may be really accurate as scientists have recently found evidence of a high level of social awareness in Ravens, where access to food/mates is dependant on who you can put down & keep below you in the flock, or unkindness I suppose it's rightly called.

http://www.livescience.com/45263-ravens-have-social-abilities-previously-only-seen-in-humans.html

[TightEnd]

he would fly down and land on my shoulder & preen at my hair

I call.