MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > How Big is Graham's Number? (feat Ron Gr...

How Big is Graham's Number? (feat Ron Graham)

posted 3 months ago by curiousMInd101 (4625)
15 replies | jump to latest

Graham's number is so incomprehensibly large that even discussing it requires entirely new cognitive tools. It's not a number you can simply write down or explain in conventional terms — any attempt to describe it would itself involve concepts so vast and abstract that they defy intuition. This video introduces some tools, offering a glimpse into the staggering scale of this mind-mindbogglingly large number.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuigptwlVHo

reply

[–] parkerbot (10735) 3 months ago

What's the point of the number?

reply

[–] curiousMInd101 (4625) 3 months ago

Graham's number is the smallest known solution to a problem in combinatorics. Specifically, it’s used in an example about connecting points and avoiding certain patterns in multidimensional spaces. It's explained more in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTeJ64KD5cg

reply

[–] parkerbot (10735) 3 months ago

Sounds like it doesn't apply or mean anything to 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the population.

That's pretty big number. Although, no need to name it after me.

reply

[–] curiousMInd101 (4625) 3 months ago

Yeah, it’s pretty much useless to most people, but the fact that it’s actually useful to someone gives the rest of us a chance to explore how to think about numbers this huge. It’s fascinating to realize that your usual ways of thinking and intuition just aren’t enough — you have to build entirely new mental tools to even start wrapping your head around scales like this.

So your name is Graham?

reply

[–] AndyKing1967 (39864) 3 months ago

That was an interesting watch. Thanks for posting.

reply

[–] filmflaneur (3122) 3 months ago

I bet Graham's mum's number is bigger...

reply

[–] curiousMInd101 (4625) 3 months ago

Did you just make a "Yo mama so fat joke"?

reply

[–] filmflaneur (3122) 3 months ago

No.

reply

[–] curiousMInd101 (4625) 3 months ago

It would have been a lot cooler if you did.

reply

[–] filmflaneur (3122) 3 months ago

we can't all be so cool as you...

reply

[–] curiousMInd101 (4625) 3 months ago

I'm only joshing you. Yours was still pretty funny.

reply

[–] filmflaneur (3122) 3 months ago

Thank you, I am here all week...

reply

[–] nyctc7 (44116) 3 months ago

At the risk of sounding rude, I didn't get very far before I thought
https://tinyurl.com/yud5mx6x

reply

[–] curiousMInd101 (4625) 3 months ago

Math has that effect on some people.

reply

[–] aliensalmon (5855) 3 months ago

I wikipedia'd the info about the number. Really cool stuff!

reply