Posted on 11/02/2024 12:41:51 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Two Australian mathematicians have called into question an old adage, that if given an infinite amount of time, a monkey pressing keys on a typewriter would eventually write the complete works of William Shakespeare.
Known as the "infinite monkey theorem", the thought-experiment has long been used to explain the principles of probability and randomness.
However, a new peer-reviewed study led by Sydney-based researchers Stephen Woodcock and Jay Falletta has found that the time it would take for a typing monkey to replicate Shakespeare's plays, sonnets and poems would be longer than the lifespan of our universe.
Which means that while mathematically true, the theorem is "misleading", they say.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Those monkeys sure have been writing the tv and movie scripts for too many years!
And nowhere in the article do they say how long it would take.
Now that’s awesome.
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