Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2002 01:33:33 -0500 From: Ken Wills <kenwills@tds.net> To: chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Why did evolution fail? Message-ID: <20020912063333.GA35751@zaptillion.net> In-Reply-To: <3D7E622F.840E002B@mindspring.com> References: <20020910084415.Q62741-100000@Tolstoy.home.lan> <3D7E622F.840E002B@mindspring.com>
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+++ Terry Lambert [10/09/02 14:20 -0700]: > > "Neal E. Westfall" wrote: > > > "A million" is just a convenient handle for "an inconceivably large > > > number"; the premise in the argument is sound: given a source of > > > randomness, eventually, a set number of bits in a specific sequence > > > will happen. If it never happens, then your input wasn't really > > > random. It's basically a premise based on large number theory, > > > combined with the theory of limits. Basically, there is a finite > > > probability of something happening, and an infinity of attempts at > > > a matching value: eventually, it *will* happen. > > > > Yes, but the odds against it for all intents and purposes make it a > > statistical impossibility. > > That's wrong. You misapprehend the nature of infinity, and we > have given them an infinite amount of time to complete their > task. > Right, and for a little more perspective - the monkeys will produce the sought sequence an "infinite" number of times, no matter how small the probability is (as long as it's > 0). Ken To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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