Is mathematical possibility of 0 equal to impossible??
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I've got an intersting question - see above. If you think, you have the answer, answer this. I am part of a lottery with infinite numbers. So the possibility is 1 / infinity = 0. But is it imposiblo to have the right nuber??? So, what means possibility of 0??
ensger wrote:
I am part of a lottery with infinite numbers.
Surely they will have a maximum serial length (say 200 digits).
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. Also visit the Ultimate Toolbox blog (New) -
ensger wrote:
I am part of a lottery with infinite numbers.
Surely they will have a maximum serial length (say 200 digits).
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. Also visit the Ultimate Toolbox blog (New) -
I've got an intersting question - see above. If you think, you have the answer, answer this. I am part of a lottery with infinite numbers. So the possibility is 1 / infinity = 0. But is it imposiblo to have the right nuber??? So, what means possibility of 0??
1 / infinity != 0 It's: the limit of n as n approaches infinity 1/n = 0. In other words, zero is never reached but effectively becomes zero.
"I make up quotes." -Vincent Reynolds
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1 / infinity != 0 It's: the limit of n as n approaches infinity 1/n = 0. In other words, zero is never reached but effectively becomes zero.
"I make up quotes." -Vincent Reynolds
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1 / infinity != 0 It's: the limit of n as n approaches infinity 1/n = 0. In other words, zero is never reached but effectively becomes zero.
"I make up quotes." -Vincent Reynolds
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The posibility is 0 - of couse. But is it impoosible?? If you choose the digits from right to left an I say 126 - is this imposimple, that there are always 0's so on?
The possibility isn't zero. It's infinitesimal.
"I make up quotes." -Vincent Reynolds
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The possibility isn't zero. It's infinitesimal.
"I make up quotes." -Vincent Reynolds
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9 with a period of 9 == 10. That's no question. The difernce to 10is 0 period of 0. So n / infinity = 0. The differnce is 0.00000 nd so on.
I think what you're trying to say is that as n approaches Infinity, 1/n approaches 0. The answer can never be 0, but can be infinitely small.
Dave Kreskowiak Microsoft MVP - Visual Basic
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9 with a period of 9 == 10. That's no question. The difernce to 10is 0 period of 0. So n / infinity = 0. The differnce is 0.00000 nd so on.
Infinity is a concept and not a number, so simple math doesn't apply as above. Limits are the basis of calculus, so I suggest reading up on that to understand the concept better.
"I make up quotes." -Vincent Reynolds
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I think what you're trying to say is that as n approaches Infinity, 1/n approaches 0. The answer can never be 0, but can be infinitely small.
Dave Kreskowiak Microsoft MVP - Visual Basic
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I've got an intersting question - see above. If you think, you have the answer, answer this. I am part of a lottery with infinite numbers. So the possibility is 1 / infinity = 0. But is it imposiblo to have the right nuber??? So, what means possibility of 0??
But your analogy looks flawed to me. For instance, how would you select the 'winning number' when the tickets are infinite? A more accurate analogy would be something like this:
You have 3 white socks and 4 black socks in a closet. What is the probability that a sock drawn at random is blue? The answer is 0, which means the event cannot occur (i.e., impossible).PS: I hate to say this, but I agree with espeir. ;P 1 / ∞ is infinitesimal, not 0.Cheers, Vikram.
"whoever I am, I'm not other people" - Corinna John.
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But your analogy looks flawed to me. For instance, how would you select the 'winning number' when the tickets are infinite? A more accurate analogy would be something like this:
You have 3 white socks and 4 black socks in a closet. What is the probability that a sock drawn at random is blue? The answer is 0, which means the event cannot occur (i.e., impossible).PS: I hate to say this, but I agree with espeir. ;P 1 / ∞ is infinitesimal, not 0.Cheers, Vikram.
"whoever I am, I'm not other people" - Corinna John.
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But your analogy looks flawed to me. For instance, how would you select the 'winning number' when the tickets are infinite? A more accurate analogy would be something like this:
You have 3 white socks and 4 black socks in a closet. What is the probability that a sock drawn at random is blue? The answer is 0, which means the event cannot occur (i.e., impossible).PS: I hate to say this, but I agree with espeir. ;P 1 / ∞ is infinitesimal, not 0.Cheers, Vikram.
"whoever I am, I'm not other people" - Corinna John.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
You have 3 white socks and 4 black socks in a closet. What is the probability that a sock drawn at random is blue? The answer is 0, which means the event cannot occur (i.e., impossible).
What if you're in a room with blue lighting? Then your odds would be 42.8%! ;P
"I make up quotes." -Vincent Reynolds
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No, probability says the odds are infinitesimal.
"I make up quotes." -Vincent Reynolds
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But your analogy looks flawed to me. For instance, how would you select the 'winning number' when the tickets are infinite? A more accurate analogy would be something like this:
You have 3 white socks and 4 black socks in a closet. What is the probability that a sock drawn at random is blue? The answer is 0, which means the event cannot occur (i.e., impossible).PS: I hate to say this, but I agree with espeir. ;P 1 / ∞ is infinitesimal, not 0.Cheers, Vikram.
"whoever I am, I'm not other people" - Corinna John.
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But your analogy looks flawed to me. For instance, how would you select the 'winning number' when the tickets are infinite? A more accurate analogy would be something like this:
You have 3 white socks and 4 black socks in a closet. What is the probability that a sock drawn at random is blue? The answer is 0, which means the event cannot occur (i.e., impossible).PS: I hate to say this, but I agree with espeir. ;P 1 / ∞ is infinitesimal, not 0.Cheers, Vikram.
"whoever I am, I'm not other people" - Corinna John.
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I've got an intersting question - see above. If you think, you have the answer, answer this. I am part of a lottery with infinite numbers. So the possibility is 1 / infinity = 0. But is it imposiblo to have the right nuber??? So, what means possibility of 0??
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But your analogy looks flawed to me. For instance, how would you select the 'winning number' when the tickets are infinite? A more accurate analogy would be something like this:
You have 3 white socks and 4 black socks in a closet. What is the probability that a sock drawn at random is blue? The answer is 0, which means the event cannot occur (i.e., impossible).PS: I hate to say this, but I agree with espeir. ;P 1 / ∞ is infinitesimal, not 0.Cheers, Vikram.
"whoever I am, I'm not other people" - Corinna John.
Vikram A Punathambekar wrote:
1 / ∞ is infinitesimal, not 0.
It's neither. It's undetermined, because infinity cannot be determined. That's sort of the whole point with infinity. You can however examine what happens when certain parameters grow towards infinity. (which has already been stated)
-- Simulcast on Crazy People's Fillings
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:-D
-- Simulcast on Crazy People's Fillings
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I've got an intersting question - see above. If you think, you have the answer, answer this. I am part of a lottery with infinite numbers. So the possibility is 1 / infinity = 0. But is it imposiblo to have the right nuber??? So, what means possibility of 0??
There are number systems where 1/infinity is 0 and others where it is an infinetesimal. Still others have multiple sizes of infinity. There are geometries with a different infinity in each direction and others where they are all the same. The answer depends on which model matches the problem you are trying to solve. The hard part in probability with small values is there is always a 100% probability that one of them will occur. So if you have an ungodly number of extremely unlikely events, you will probably never pick which one will happen, but you can be sure that one of them will.
I can imagine the sinking feeling one would have after ordering my book, only to find a laughably ridiculous theory with demented logic once the book arrives - Mark McCutcheon