Apart from those fortunate enough to comprehend the esoteric formulations of pure mathematicians and theoretical physicists, understanding infinities is all but impossible. There are, after all, finite and infinite infinities, each described through formulae and symbols that, for the layperson, might well be the mystical formulations of Shunya, Brahmaan and the various notions of the divine. Thought experiments and metaphor are the means in ordinary language to make sense of the sensible: An infinite universe holds so many possibilities, writers have told us, that the probable is inevitable: So much so that given enough time and typewriters, a troop of monkeys would belt out — by sheer chance — the complete works of Shakespeare. Unfortunately, for the monkeys there’s never enough time, even in a seemingly infinite universe.
Two Australian mathematicians — ironically, with time on their hands — have found that the universe would die before the Bard will be replicated. In fact, if all 2,00,000 chimpanzees on Earth kept at it, they wouldn’t manage even a page from Hamlet in a gogol (1 followed by 100 zeros) of years, when the universe as we know it will meet its “heat death”.
For those with unfulfilled creative ambitions — dreams of any kind, really — the mathematicians’ findings published in Franklin Open can be cause for despair or inspiration. After all, the unfinished short story, the unwritten poem, the travel plans postponed — each is a reminder that there isn’t enough time to do the things that matter. And now, there isn’t enough time in the universe for that to even be a possibility. On the other hand, when science is disappointing, science fiction need not be: Arthur Dent, in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy found in space, “monkeys who want to talk to us about this script for Hamlet they’ve worked out.” For the procrastinators, or those just caught up with life, fictional time may provide solace. Why be disappointed by theoretical chimps when there are fictional monkeys around?
