Bayeslisk comments on Einstein's Arrogance - Less Wrong

30 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 25 September 2007 01:29AM

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Comment author: Daemon 14 September 2013 07:34:06AM *  -1 points [-]

Hate to nitpick myself, but 1/2+1/4+1/8+... diverges (e.g., by the harmonic series test). Sum 1/n^2 = 1/4 + 1/9 + ... = (pi^2)/6 is a more fitting example.

An interesting question, in this context, is what it would mean for infinitely many possibilities to exist in a "finite space about any point that can be reached at sub-speed of light times." Would it be possible under the assumption of a discrete universe (a universe decomposable no further than the smallest, indivisible pieces)? This is an issue we don't have to worry about in dealing with the infinite sums of numbers that converge to a finite number.

Comment author: Bayeslisk 14 September 2013 07:54:59AM 2 points [-]

That's not correct at all. sum(1/2^n)[1:infinity] = 1.

Comment author: Daemon 14 September 2013 08:06:08AM 4 points [-]

Oops, misread that as sum(1/(2n))[1:infinity] (which it wasn't), my bad.