h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, thanks for the advice guys, as useless as it may be (just kidding).

I can see where you're coming from Cefpret and Spiff and I thank you both for your honesty. Maybe someday I'll refine the theory better, or find a more thorough version, though this one still makes sense in my mind.

I'll leave the article up for a scout to ponder over and (ultimately) remove either for the EG or the Trash. Meanwhile, I might just try the crazy-bin, er, I mean the AWW.

Okay, it's lost in the thread somewhere, but my problem with the theory is that you are presumably using the result that anything with a non-zero probability of happening at each point must eventually happen, but your theory doesn't necessarily follow:

For a start you can't say that any possible alien you imagine has a non-zero probability of existing in any finite part of the universe. There is no infinitessimally small number greater than zero and so with an infinite number of possible aliens (surely?) you cannot say that each one has a greater than zero probabilty of existing (in a finite volume blah blah).

I did think the entry was a nice brain-twister, though, so it belongs somewhere. Just don't imagine the theory is totally correct.

Well, it was fun talking about it all, anywhos.

No hard feelings GMA, I agree that it was an interesting idea and nicely done.

What's next, then?

spiff

How about:

If the universe is infinite then the sky at night is white.

Here's a thought (re: posting 44): does the set of negative integers have an end (-1) and no beginning?

While we are joking, do you know this one:

Be epsilon less than zero.

Oh yes, and Adon: Please move this thread out of Peer Review.

"end" and "beginning" aren't mathematical terms, but it has a largest member and no smallest. The set of numbers that can be written as 1 divided by some integer is infinite with both a largest and a smallest member (1=1/1 and -1=1/-1). However, no infinite set of integers can have both.

Well, what will be the fate of this Entry?

Caper Plip

To have any chance of getting in it needs a little rewriting. I don't think the author understands probability theory that well (please don't take offence GMA, I realise I'm being harsh, but this has sat around Peer Review for a while since you last made any changes).

Also, given that agc Ben's mayonnaise article failed to get in , I don't see much hope for this.

This thread seems to have come to a halt, and the author hasn't posted to h2g2 for over two months.

I propose a move... to entry or FM?

I'll second a move back to entry, i can't see anyone else carrying it on, it was a personal theory, really.

Tango

I'm afraid i think we scared 'im off!

some you win...

Taken care of.

The entry I mean, not the author

Begining means start,and that's where we are.Everything is finite and so is earth.The US will do much more damage than the Germans in the second world war if we don't oppose them now...Earth is going to die if we keep thinking that religion is an explaination of our existence today.Do you want to play into a war today,then forget your children or your possible children?

Hi! This is a dead PR thread, you won't get much discussion here. I'm not sure your comment really has much to do with an infinite universe, maybe you should try posting to <./>askh2g2</.>.

Tango

This is not clever enough for me. YOU go somewhere else. Your words show the juvenile word your living into. Learn and then speak, not the opposite…

The truth is that I don't see the end of this.Because we think that there is a beginnig to everything, the end of something is the beginning of something else. Only if we think that there is a beginning to life then we have an end. The idea of infinity is only depending on our thinking and the same for finity...

Only very few people read this discussion here, and I'll quit soon.

So if you want that somebody reads what you say, follow the link Tango gave you.

"This is not clever enough for me. YOU go somewhere else. Your words show the juvenile word your living into. Learn and then speak, not the opposite…"

Is this targeted at the entry or at me? What isn't "clever enough", do you know how arrogant that sounds? Are you telling me to go somewhere else? If so, i think you ought to learn about the way this site works a bit better, I am one of the Gurus, I have volunteered to help this site by answering people questions and helping them. I was doing that job when I directed you towards askh2g2, no one will discuss these comments here, they might (if you improve your attitude) discuss them there. I'll assume by "word" you mean "world" (ironic considering your next comment), and by "into" you mean "in", what words are you refering to? And how does that show a juvenile world? You are you suggesting learns to speak? If so mean me, then I would like to know what i have said wrong, if you mean the person that wrote the entry, then, again, i would like specifics, but I would also point out that not everyone on this site speaks english as their first language, it is considered very rude to insult their language abilitys. You should be very careful what you say to people in future, especially volunteers that give up their free time to help people like you.

Tango

So sorry Tango to waste your time on that night…I remember being extremely drunk then and I should have been directed straight to bed! Keep on the good work…