critical minds want to know the answer to this question

  • polonius-rex@kbin.run
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    2 months ago

    A single human brain is finite, but the possible configurations of neurons across any possible hypothetical brain is decidedly infinite.

    • jeff 👨‍💻@programming.dev
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      2 months ago

      I’m no mathematician, but I don’t think that’s how it works. A quick Google says there are 100 billion neurons. So you would have 100000000000! possible combinations, unfathomably large, but finite. Granted, a human brain is more complex than the configuration of neurons, but I don’t know how it becomes infinite.

      I’m also way past the point of overthinking this.

      • polonius-rex@kbin.run
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        2 months ago

        yeah, but the relative positions and relative lengths and relative widths and relative densities and relative conductivities of those neurons are real numbers

        • jeff 👨‍💻@programming.dev
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          2 months ago

          Now we are getting into the quantum physics question of if the universe is discrete or continuous. Which seems to be unsolved.

          So I guess that’s my answer. If the universe is discrete then there are finite genders, and if it’s continuous then there could be infinite genders.

          • knokelmaat@beehaw.org
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            2 months ago

            I fucking love where this went, as I was thinking the exact same responses while reading this thread! Love it when a question about gender results in fundamental ideas surrounding mathematics and the nature of reality.

          • polonius-rex@kbin.run
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            2 months ago

            so at the very least, the lower bound is the natural numbers, or a countably infinite number