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0 pointskmoser4mo ago0 comments

Even every possible permutation of every single subatomic element in the universe? Even if we just consider atoms, at 10^80 atoms in the entire universe, there are (10^80)! possible permutations, which is many, many, many orders of magnitude larger.

And this isn't even counting sets that include multiples of the same item; once you get into that territory, there really is no upper bound.

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4 comments · 2 top-level

Dylan168074mo ago· 2 in thread

No, not every permutation. An atom gets to be in one larger object (recursively).

Definitely no multiples. What would that even mean, also you would need unbounded space for multiples of just two atoms.

kmoserOP4mo ago

> Definitely no multiples. What would that even mean, also you would need unbounded space for multiples of just two atoms.

I have a list and I want to assign a unique ID to each list item. Each list item itself contains one or more items:

  1. My umbrella [ID "a"] and my sunglasses [ID "b"]
  2. My umbrella ["a"], my sunglasses ["b"], and my umbrella ["a"]

List item 2 contains two references to my umbrella [ID "a"].

Dylan168074mo ago

So in a physical sense of identifying things that's nonsense. And again if you allow that then lists of just one or two atoms can take up infinite storage space. That's a super obvious reject. It makes no sense to even try to accommodate it in an ID system.

zdragnar4mo ago

New atoms form all the time, either through fusion or fission. The latter is happening right now all around you- either from potassium in plants breaking down, to radon gas that sept up from the ground, to carbon itself. All of these have unstable isotopes with half lives short enough to have at least a little activity near you.

Given that constant change to the available combinations of sets, it would seem that a truly capable system would need to be practically infinite, no?

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