this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] nuko147@lemmy.world 6 points 11 hours ago (3 children)

I thought that the correct answer to these was making a loop on the right, merging the lines.

[–] psud@aussie.zone 1 points 15 minutes ago* (last edited 12 minutes ago)

Unfortunately it's hard to join the tag end of one infinity to the tag end of another infinity to allow traversing both completely

I don't really think it's even sensible to talk about the tag end of an infinity. The bitten/bitter end is at 1, the tag end at infinity in this mental model. I feel that is the correct way to use rope terms for imagined embodied infinities as the small end is clearly bitten to (tied to) zero while the other end is free

[–] Noodle07@lemmy.world 6 points 9 hours ago

The answer is multi track drifting

[–] Ceruleum@lemmy.wtf 2 points 10 hours ago

No, we need a second trolley.

[–] BeatTakeshi@lemmy.world 6 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

Top case is not the smallest infinite; going for prime number would save a lot of time for a lot of people before they die

[–] Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org 14 points 11 hours ago

The set of all primes is the same size infinity as the set of all positive integers because you could create a way to map one to the other aka you can count to the nth prime. Reals are different in that there are an infinite number of real between any two reals which means there's no possible way to map them.

[–] kadu@scribe.disroot.org 9 points 12 hours ago

The set of primes and the set of integers have the same size, you can map a prime to every integer.

[–] joucker29@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago

depends on what you mean by "smallest"

[–] BilSabab@lemmy.world 11 points 15 hours ago (2 children)

Is there a way to take both routes?

[–] Adalast@lemmy.world 1 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

You dont have to since the set of all positive integers belongs to the set of all real numbers, you actually hit both tracks by just taking the lower track.

[–] BilSabab@lemmy.world 1 points 9 hours ago

never doubt my ability to mess up the unmessable. i just might stumble into disabling clipping and end up falling forever.

[–] ours@lemmy.world 10 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

Hit the hand brake and drift that sucker.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 11 points 12 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Grostleton@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 5 hours ago

Running in the 90s intensifies

[–] BilSabab@lemmy.world 4 points 14 hours ago

with my knack for drifting i'll miss both and hit something else entirely even within this imaginary scenario

[–] ssfckdt@lemmy.blahaj.zone 20 points 18 hours ago

The first one, because people will die at a slower rate.

The second one, because the density will cause the trolley to slow down sooner, versus the first one where it will be able to pick up speed again between each person. Also, more time to save people down the rail with my handy rope cutting knife.

[–] AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml 4 points 13 hours ago

This hypothetical post is a thought crime!

[–] aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 19 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

I think it was numberphile, or maybe vsauce, who did a video on infinities. It was really interesting. I learnt a lot, then forgot it all.

[–] filcuk@lemmy.zip 6 points 17 hours ago

Ah yes, I remember my eyes glazing over as things got too complicated to fit through my thick skull

[–] chunes@lemmy.world 7 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Good to know there are roughly 6 real numbers for every integer

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago

If there are child real numbers then you can fit more.

[–] tiredofsametab@fedia.io 32 points 21 hours ago

First, I start moving people to hotel rooms...

[–] madjo@feddit.nl 2 points 13 hours ago

Multilane drifting!

[–] nathanjent@programming.dev 4 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

An infinite amount of people on the track implies that the track is infinitely long. If that is not the case and the track is a normal length then the sudden addition of all that bio-mass in a finite space will cause a gravitational collapse. But will the collapse start on the first track or the second? Either way I hope you saved your game because you might lose your progress.

[–] buttnugget@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

The mass of dead bodies is what replenishes the new living ones on the finite track.

[–] answersplease77@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (1 children)

The infamious theory of infinitly-expanding train track in porportion with train-travelled distence sequared by prof. buttnugget

[–] buttnugget@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago
[–] Harvey656@lemmy.world 12 points 21 hours ago (3 children)

I mean, the bottom. The trolley simply would stop, get gunked up by all the guts and the sheer amount of bodies so close together. Checkmate tolley.

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[–] answersplease77@lemmy.world 1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Actually... this means there are infinite people so:

Let X be the number of people killed = (-infinity)

As infity is defined :

infinity + X = infinity

infinity + (-infinity) =

infinity - infinity = infinty

So no people would have died black guy pointing at his head meme

[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 13 hours ago

Desnt work when they're different classes of infinity.

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