Thanks for the reply in
http://www.nutters.org/user/famous/mess ... 5929381.62
but i would like to take the idea a bit farther.
Specifically, w.r.t. monkeys and shakespeare, and the origins of life.
You make the point repeatedly that if the probability of an even is p>0, then given infinite trials, it will certainly happen, and happen an infinite number of times.
That seems to break down when p is 'infinitesimal'. Which is sort of like saying k * &inf; = &inf; but infinitesimal * &inf; = undefined.
If, then, the mathematics tells us that infinitesimal possibilities, which are not strictly 0, have a p<1 even given infinite trials, then the next question would appear to be:
Quote:
is the possibility of the origin of life small or infinitesimal?
I'm not sure if math and/or science can answer that one.
I'll ignore, for the moment, the possibility of the origin of life being 0
