Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Code Project
  1. Home
  2. The Lounge
  3. Is mathematical possibility of 0 equal to impossible??

Is mathematical possibility of 0 equal to impossible??

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved The Lounge
question
34 Posts 14 Posters 0 Views 1 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • R Red Stateler

    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

    E Offline
    E Offline
    ensger
    wrote on last edited by
    #6

    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?

    R 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • E ensger

      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?

      R Offline
      R Offline
      Red Stateler
      wrote on last edited by
      #7

      The possibility isn't zero. It's infinitesimal.


      "I make up quotes." -Vincent Reynolds

      E 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • R Red Stateler

        The possibility isn't zero. It's infinitesimal.


        "I make up quotes." -Vincent Reynolds

        E Offline
        E Offline
        ensger
        wrote on last edited by
        #8

        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.

        D R 2 Replies Last reply
        0
        • E ensger

          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.

          D Offline
          D Offline
          Dave Kreskowiak
          wrote on last edited by
          #9

          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

          E 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • E ensger

            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.

            R Offline
            R Offline
            Red Stateler
            wrote on last edited by
            #10

            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

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • D Dave Kreskowiak

              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

              E Offline
              E Offline
              ensger
              wrote on last edited by
              #11

              That is rifht. but the mathematics of posibility says, it is 0. That's the question.

              R Z D 3 Replies Last reply
              0
              • E ensger

                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??

                V Offline
                V Offline
                Vikram A Punathambekar
                wrote on last edited by
                #12

                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.

                E R J 5 Replies Last reply
                0
                • V Vikram A Punathambekar

                  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.

                  E Offline
                  E Offline
                  ensger
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #13

                  It is 0!! But 0 is not impossible. (Exception, your example;))

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • V Vikram A Punathambekar

                    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.

                    R Offline
                    R Offline
                    Red Stateler
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #14

                    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

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • E ensger

                      That is rifht. but the mathematics of posibility says, it is 0. That's the question.

                      R Offline
                      R Offline
                      Red Stateler
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #15

                      No, probability says the odds are infinitesimal.


                      "I make up quotes." -Vincent Reynolds

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • V Vikram A Punathambekar

                        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.

                        E Offline
                        E Offline
                        ensger
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #16

                        That's al true - I understand. but we ave some methematics - here we call it 'Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung' (possibility-calculation), that works with somthing like this. And the results are good!!

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • V Vikram A Punathambekar

                          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.

                          E Offline
                          E Offline
                          ensger
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #17

                          That's all true - I understand. but we have some methematics - here we call it 'Wahrscheinlichkeitsrechnung' (possibility-calculation), that works with somthing like this. And the results are good!!

                          V 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • E ensger

                            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??

                            B Offline
                            B Offline
                            Bassam Abdul Baki
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #18

                            Math forum please.


                            "In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!" - Homer Simpson Web - Blog - RSS - Math - LinkedIn

                            J 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • V Vikram A Punathambekar

                              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.

                              J Offline
                              J Offline
                              Jorgen Sigvardsson
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #19

                              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

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • B Bassam Abdul Baki

                                Math forum please.


                                "In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!" - Homer Simpson Web - Blog - RSS - Math - LinkedIn

                                J Offline
                                J Offline
                                Jorgen Sigvardsson
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #20

                                :-D

                                -- Simulcast on Crazy People's Fillings

                                B 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • E ensger

                                  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??

                                  A Offline
                                  A Offline
                                  Andy Brummer
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #21

                                  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

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • E ensger

                                    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??

                                    T Offline
                                    T Offline
                                    TintinV3ck
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #22

                                    Yes, you have a small chance. However, the possibility of finding the value of infinity is better! Does that answer your question?

                                    Regards, Tintin

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • E ensger

                                      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??

                                      G Offline
                                      G Offline
                                      Gary Wheeler
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #23

                                      The problem is that you are trying to reason about a mathematical concept in the wrong language. You are trying to reason using essentially 'verbal' language, whereas you should be using mathematics:        ∞ lim Σ 1/n = 0      n = 0


                                      Software Zen: delete this;

                                      B Z D 3 Replies Last reply
                                      0
                                      • E ensger

                                        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??

                                        Z Offline
                                        Z Offline
                                        Zac Howland
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #24

                                        The probability of selecting the right number in an infinite set is not equal to 0. It approaches 0. Basically, your chances are so small, that it might as well be 0, but in this case, it is not impossible, just highly improbable.

                                        If you decide to become a software engineer, you are signing up to have a 1/2" piece of silicon tell you exactly how stupid you really are for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week Zac

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • J Jorgen Sigvardsson

                                          :-D

                                          -- Simulcast on Crazy People's Fillings

                                          B Offline
                                          B Offline
                                          Bassam Abdul Baki
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #25

                                          That forum's dead. Not too many smart people after all. :-D


                                          "In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!" - Homer Simpson Web - Blog - RSS - Math - LinkedIn

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups