A metaphore - Response 5

From: Hal Ruhl <hjr.domain.name.hidden>
Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 09:06:47 -0500

A suitable metaphor for my equation.

Think of a very tall highly branched bush.
On the lower levels ants wink into existence and start climbing the bush.
At each junction of the bush an ant must select a single up-going branch.
At each selection the ant morphs - grows more hair or something.
When the ant gets to the top it winks out.
Wherever the ant goes on the bush there are ants ahead of it and ants
behind it.
There is a countably infinite number of kinds of bushes each with a
countably infinite number of copies each with a countably infinite number
of ants.


That is essentially what my equation says.

When it comes to no selection you have to get serious.

The remarkable thing is there is an equation for it.

Hal
Received on Wed Nov 22 2000 - 06:10:54 PST