It only took a couple billion monkeys a few million years but one did eventually write out the full works of Shakespeare
Infintiy Infintiy Infintiy Infintiy Infintiy Infintiy Infintiy Infintiy
Submitted 2 weeks ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to science_memes@mander.xyz
https://mander.xyz/pictrs/image/2e9b38b1-c515-4793-9bde-30651197c325.png
Comments
DrownedRats@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Leg@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
This is always how I’ve chosen to interpret the expression. It’s not a theory. It’s an observation.
BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s a thought experiment, not an observation. The idea is that if you have infinity and it’s truly random than eventually all possibilities emerge.
The idea of infinite monkeys typing randomly on infinite typewriters is that eventually one of them would accidentally type out all the works of Shakespeare. Many more would type out parts of the works of Shakespeare. And many many many more would type random garbage.
If we imagine for a moment the multiverse is infinite and random, then every possible universe would exist somewhere in that multiverse.
It can be taken in other directions too. It’s a way of cocneptualising the implications of infinity and true randomness.
formergijoe@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Alas, not on a typewriter… Back to the drawing board!
LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Turns out not quite. In the monkey version Hamlet says, “To be, or what.”
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
A property of hydrogen is that, given enough hydrogen and time, eventually it will write out the full works of Shakespeare.
Kolanaki@yiffit.net 2 weeks ago
As I pointed out elsewhere about this: it also is based entirely on probability, like cracking encryption. It could take longer than the universe will be around. But there’s also the possibility they write Hamlet within a year because they got lucky.
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
if it’s infinite monkeys then an infinite amount of them do it correct on the first try
JackbyDev@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
That’s assuming they’re typing truly randomly. Which is a fair assumption.
BluesF@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Not necessarily. Each monkey is independent, right? So if we think about the first letter, it’s either going to be, idk, A, the correct letter, or B, any wrong letter. Any monkey that types B is never going to get there. Now each money independently chooses between them. With each second monkey, the chances in aggregate get smaller and smaller than we only see B, but… It’s never a 0 chance that the monkey hits B. If there’s only two keys, it’s always 50/50. And it could through freak chance turn out that they all hit B… Forever. There is never a guarantee that you will get even a single correct letter… Even with infinite monkeys.
I get that it seems like infinity has to include every possible outcome, because the limit of P(at least one monkey typing A) as the number of monkeys goes to infinity is 1… But a limit is not a value. The probability never reaches 1 even with infinite monkeys.
ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
That’s not true. Infinite doesn’t mean “all”. There are an infinite amount of numbers between 0 and 1, but none of them are 2. There’s a high statistical probability, sure, but it’s not necessarily 100%.
absentbird@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
If the monkeys were truly infinite would time even matter? For any set of monkeys that could write Hamlet within a year there’s an infinite number of duplicate sets, so they could do as much writing in one day as the original set would do over the age of the universe.
JackbyDev@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
You don’t get to pick and choose! You get infinite monkeys. What’s all this about duplicate sets? Sounds like somebody is trying to bring in a ringer! That’s cheatin!
millie@beehaw.org 2 weeks ago
Considering that there are an infinite number of potential arrangements of keystrokes that aren’t Hamlet? I’m honestly not fully convinced that you’d necessarily get Hamlet to begin with, let alone in a finite amount of time. Could you? Sure. But an infinite set minus an infinite number of possibilities still leaves an infinite number of possibilities. Any or all of which could not be Hamlet.
Etterra@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
What part of Infinity is a mathematician, of all people, failing to comprehend? So what if it takes until cosmological decade 1,000 or 1 million or 1mil⁹⁰⁰⁰, it’s still possible on an infinite timescale, of one could devise a way for it all to survive the heat death of the universe ad infinitum.
KaiFeng@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I have read the paper, the news make it seem like something that is not. It’s a tough experiment and mostly a joke. From the paper closing remarks:
Given plausible estimates of the lifespan of the universe and the amount of possible monkey typists available, this still leaves huge orders of magnitude differences between the resources available and those required for non-trivial text generation. As such, we have to conclude that Shakespeare himself inadvertently provided the answer as to whether monkey labour could meaningfully be a replacement for human endeavour as a source of scholarship or creativity. To quote Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 3, Line 87: “No”.
PR3CiSiON@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s also possible that it’s not possible even on an infinite time scale. A quick example: if you asked an algorithm to choose a number, and you choose 6536639876555721, but the algorithm only chooses from the infinite number of even numbers, it will never choose your number. So for the monkeys, if they are just not ‘programmed’ to ever be able to write a whole Shakespeare play, they will not be able to even with infinite time and infinite moneys.
GiveMemes@jlai.lu 2 weeks ago
Disagree. Within the confines of the thought experiment the monkeys are working with the standard alphabet and punctuation. There’s no reason to assume that they would never use the letter t or something like that, especially given the infinite time scale.
NostraDavid@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
The “Infinite monkey theorem” concerns itself with Probability (the mathematical field). It has been mathematically proven that given the random input (the mathematical kind - not the human-created kind) of the monkeys, and the infinite time, the probability of the “complete works of William Shakespeare” rolling out of the typewriter in between the other random output is
1.It’s a mathematical theorem that just uses monkeys to speak to the imagination, not a practical exercise, other than to prove the maths.
You should look into another brain-breaking probability problem called the “Monty Hall Problem”. Note that some of the greatest mathematical minds of the time failed said puzzle. Switching 100% increases the chance of winning. No, it won’t guarantee a win, but it will increase your chances, mathematically.
Tibi@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Except for (cosmic-) bitflips and/or evolution changing the programming
Donkter@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Hell, infinite monkeys over a finite amount of time or finite monkeys over an infinite amount of time does the trick.
phoenixz@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
I was about to say…
An infinite amount of monkeys could (depending on how you make the rules) write Shakespeare within a second.
if each monkey just has to type one letter on a page and you just take a group of monkeys in a long line and you read each letter on the line you would read Shakespeare. It would be done in a second.
Dragonstaff@leminal.space 2 weeks ago
I’m not terribly bright, but I’ve never understood the original statement.
If I bash my right hand on a typewriter an infinite number of times, that will never turn into the complete works of Shakespeare. If we assume a monkey will enter one random letter at a time, that probably would.
gramie@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
But given infinite time, could OP spell “infinity” correctly?
awwwyissss@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Well if you give them infintiny time… maybe.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
infintiny? you bloopid monkye
lemonmelon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I like “infintiny” as a replacement for “infinitesimal”
theuniqueone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Good glad to hear monkeys will produce their own unique literature instead of copying the classics.
DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 2 weeks ago
Huh. I’d never thought of it like that, but now that you mention it with an infinite number of monkeys one of them will eventually write an entire literary canon of plays that blow that loser Shakespeare out of the water.
Windex007@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times.
deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 2 weeks ago
You stupid monkey!
Gerudo@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Damn. So close
Emmie@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
That research is a redditor ‚acthually’ taken to academia
KrankyKong@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Something weird I’ve been noticing. Lately I’ve been unintentionally minimizing comments before I’ve finished reading them. Just happened with yours. It’s like some subconscious part of my brain goes “booorrring!” half way through reading anything longer than two sentences and immediately goes for the next dopamine kick.
And I’m not knocking your comment. I was genuinely interested in what I was reading. It’s just a little troubling. I dropped Reddit a while back because I felt like I was becoming addicted. I lasted a few months, but evidently I’ve fallen off the wagon.
Emmie@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Don’t worry I actually nurture my internet presence to be a little controversial
Maggoty@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Actually, we should be thankful for their divine presence.
cactopuses@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Just thinking at a high level, an infinite number of monkies should hypothetically almost instantly produce Shakespeare (or at least as quickly as they can type)
Conversely, 1 monkey would eventually produce it given infinity time.
IHateReddit@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
1 monkey would likely die before producing Shakespeare
cactopuses@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
oh absolutely, this is purely a thought experiment of course.
yuri@pawb.social 2 weeks ago
not if it’s an infinite monkey
JackbyDev@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
Well, an infinite number would.
ohshittheyknow@lemmynsfw.com 2 weeks ago
So as weird as it sounds not all infinities are equal. For example there is an infinite set of odd numbers. That set will never include the number 2 though.
figjam@midwest.social 2 weeks ago
Two is the loneliest number?
RickyWars@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
OK but what if we had one monkey typing away for every real number between zero and one?
BluesF@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
One monkey may never produce it even given infinite time. It could just produce an infinite string of the letter a and never change it’s mind. That’s less likely that it writing hamlet, or even many hamlets… But nonetheless, it could. In fact all of the infinite monkeys could do that. If you repeated the experiment and infinite number of times, it’s likely that one of them will simple produce an infinite number of infinite strings of only the letter A. Or, idk, ASCII art.
jacksilver@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This is the same type of criticism the paper made. The real intent behind the saying is given random output (where all outputs have nonzero probability) eventually you will create anything/everything.
Its a thought experiment around infinity, probability, and art.
chakan2@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That’s why a monkey is used in the thought experiment. Monkeys do think at a low level. As it goes insane over centuries of imprisonment in front of its jailer, it’s likely going to try complex solutions to get out. Think of the hell infinity would really be for this monkey.
lseif@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
infinite monkey theorem relies on the assumption that infinite banana theorem is valid
21Cabbage@lemmynsfw.com 2 weeks ago
Hell, an actually infinite amount of monkeys would produce the complete works of Shakespeare plus some originals in the same style in the exact amount of time it took to literally press the necessary buttons.
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
An infinite amount of monkeys each given an infinite amount of time would produce all infinite strings possible on a typewriter (this includes ones that just happen to be terminated with a neverending substring of blank spaces, i.e. one where the monkey stops or presses whitespace keys and nothing else an arbitrary number of times.).
21Cabbage@lemmynsfw.com 2 weeks ago
I mean, even if the typewriter had an extra button setting off a bomb, killing the monkey and all the monkeys around them, they’d still pull it off. That’s infinity baby.
xthexder@l.sw0.com 2 weeks ago
deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 2 weeks ago
The Library of Babel, by Jorge Luis Borges (1941)
A good read.
pressanykeynow@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That is wrong assumption. We know that even when something is infinite it may never reach required value. Shakespeare or anything else may be a unique event in the infinite space-time universe.
WoolyNelson@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Back in my IT support days, IPX routing had a “Count to Infinity” problem when the number of hops between sites went above 15. We used to joke that this made 16 “Infinity”.
Being nerds at the time, we did napkin math to prove the Shakespearian Monkey Quotient was 256cmy (combined monkey years) for “Hamlet”.
MathiasTCK@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Combined Monkey Years just aren’t the same since their lead singer left, I’m hoping they improve eventually.
untorquer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Don’t worry, the reunion tour is in 35cmy
Gort@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
This thread could well have been written by an infinite amount of monkeys, too.
Thoiei0z ao;qjlk a 2897n3 eiie??! hoenwk a ;jihiwe a wiiien theohg rosebud oiwoi;qne i93823hnn banana
fossilesque@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
OldWoodFrame@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
But monkeys never ask questions.
Science has yet to determine if monkeys would be able to type “wherefore art thou Romeo?”
Fleur_@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
They already have, we evolved from a species you could colloquially refer to as monkeys. The ancestors of those monkeys went on to write Shakespeare
Unknown1234_5@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
We evolved from the same species as monkies did, not from monkeys. They weren’t actually monkeys until they were already very far removed from us. However, given that we are apes and thus there was at some point a human ancestor species that was ape and was not human the rest of that is right. Off the top of my head that species would probably be our last common ancestor with other apes.
MidsizedSedan@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Still stuck on step 1. Get infinite monkeys.
lemonmelon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
We’re gonna need a bigger sedan…
lugal@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I once heard that monkeys will just go to the typewriter, tipe the same letter a few times and leave. Doesn’t sound like Shakespeare to me
Jake_Farm@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Next question, would Shakespeare appear in the Library of Babel?
GamingChairModel@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yes, everything that can be expressed as letters is in the Library of Babel. Finding anything meaningful in that library, though, is gonna take longer than just writing it yourself.
PhlubbaDubba@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Ð ſtu̇dı ƿėz t ſı ƿėt tuımfreım Shakespeare kᵫd huıpėþetikėlı imṙdj ovṙ. Ð rizu̇ltſ ſu̇djeſt ðæt enı givin mu̇nkı ƿᵫd nıd ė greıtṙ ėmaunt v tuım ðæn ðeıṙ ƿᵫd bı u̇ntil hıt deþ t prėduſ ıvin ė rekėgnuızėbėl ėmaunt v Shakespeare.
spoiler
The study was to see what timeframe shakespeare could hypothetical emerge over. The results suggest that any given monkey would need a greater amount of time than there would be until heat death to produce ecen a recognizeable amount of Shakespeare.
MossyFeathers@pawb.social 2 weeks ago
Bro. I like the idea of introducing non-latin characters into the English alphabet, but holy shit that’s basically unreadable lmao.
flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
English is long overdue for a spelling reform, but just taking all fancy looking characters from other germanic languages is not the way
TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
this was fun, thanks
iAvicenna@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
infinite - infinite = infinite, take that infinite
iii@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
I welcome the visual once BBC realises the limit as k goes from 0 to pos infinity, of sum n=0 to k, for (1 / (1 + n)) actually converges and has a real solution.
iquanyin@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
🤣
PaupersSerenade@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
‘If infinite monkeys type everyday they might accidentally write Hamlet the play. But they’ll probably just shit on it and throw it away; in the infinite monkey cage!
usrtrv@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Here’s a documentary about the monkeys: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkLeto3RZrk
chakan2@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This was a report for Trump supporters about how Donald xweets.
Evotech@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This is the researcher
neidu2@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
And even the study can easily be proven wrong. A finite amount of monkeys already produced Shakespeare in a finite amount of time; it took roughly 25 million years.
Pyro@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
No way!