SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY Reality Is Like A Line With In nite Points A thought experiment about reality Lorenz Duremdes, Polymath Nov 24 · 3 min read Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay The line with infinite dots thought experiment I want you to imagine a line ranging from the values 0 to 10. It’s a line with no numbers attached or indexed to it, all you know is that it ranges from 0 to 10. I want you to pick number 5. Now, all we know is that it’s probably somewhere in the middle of the line, but we don’t know exactly where to point ourselves. So you just decide to point as close as possible to the middle of the line. Now, let’s ask ourselves the question: “What is the probability that we have picked out the number 5?” The thing with the line is that it has an infinite amount of numbers e.g. 1.124534, 5.23082, you get the idea. So the probability that we have picked the number 5 is close to zero. In fact, any number that we have picked has around the same probability: close to zero. The thing is, because we approximately know where the middle of the line (i.e. the number 5), the probability for us to pick number 5 is actually still higher than the chance for us to pick any other number. It still is, however, close to zero. How does this thought experiment equate to reality? Well, imagine this: reality, too, has “infinite points and numbers”. Now, you might argue about things like the Planck length, but let’s hold ourselves accountable to the highest dimension possible. Ten Dimensions Explained Ten Dimensions Explained The thing is, whatever state you are currently in, together with how the universe currently is, you could imagine that the probability of such an occurrence is also close to zero, just like the infinite dots on a line thought experiment. In fact, any action you will perform next has a probability close to zero in the large-scale. Just hold on to that thought for a second and let it flow. The thought that we all believe we are in control and are performing actions deliberately, yet all their probabilities are infinitesimal. Now, just like we can approximate the number 5 despite the fact that the line has infinite points, so it is with reality. We are able to approximate our next actions and increase the probability of such an action occurring. It probably won’t exactly be that action, but it will be good enough nonetheless. Subscribe for more content like this: Subscribe See this to see why I write: https://lorenzduremdes.wordpress.com/2019/10/08/introd… mailchi.mp . . . This story is published in a Few Words, Medium’s publication that only accepts stories under 500 words. If you have a few meaningful words to say and want to be a writer in our publication, visit here. Some rights reserved Science Philosophy Mathematics Thoughts Short Story Discover Medium Make Medium yours Become a member Welcome to a place where words matter. Follow all the topics you care about, and Get unlimited access to the best stories On Medium, smart voices and original we’ll deliver the best stories for you to on Medium — and support writers while ideas take center stage - with no ads in your homepage and inbox. Explore you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade sight. Watch About Help Legal
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