What is impossible???

[iNow]

And considering rare examples such as the square root of two, I should likely ammend my previously articulated position.

 

The number of things which are truly impossible is exceedingly miniscule when someone is given enough time and resources, but clearly is non-zero.

[D H]

And considering rare examples such as the square root of two, I should likely ammend my previously articulated position.

 

The number of things which are truly impossible is exceedingly miniscule when someone is given enough time and resources, but clearly is non-zero.

I would say the contrary: The number of things which are even remotely possible is exceeding miniscule. The set of all things, possible or impossible, is a set of incomprehensible size. It is not just infinite; it has unbounded cardinality. Even given infinite time and resources, the set of possible things is a constructible set. It has finite cardinality. In comparison to the set of all things the set of possible things is a set of measure zero.

[iNow]

I suppose next you're going to tell me that there's no santa claus!

[thedarkshade]

I suppose next you're going to tell me that there's no santa claus!

Oh there are a lots of them out there, but unfortunately they're all fake.

 

BTW, the OP mentioned Kaku, a person who I truly admire. When read his "Visions" I found it very exciting, but I was missing something while reading it, I was missing the sense of reality. Kaku can sometimes make some really extravagant predictions (or his opinions) on how science will evolve, and sometimes I think they look pretty childish. Now why do they look childish? Well because there yet is not global awareness of how important science is. I can tell that looking in my own country. Nobody cares about it, very few people are interested to understand and share with the others the fascinating world of science. Human stupidity is just way to high to understand that wars with ethnic bases are nothing but a huge degradation of a modern understanding of the world.

So the only real and practically impossible thing to do is end the hate existing between nations, religions and ethnicities and when that is done, Kaku's dream might come into play!

[Riogho]

Having an electron turning into an elephant appears to be impossible.

[John Cuthber]

Interestingly, so is the reverse process, possibly just as well, elephants may be endangered but we don't need as many of them as we have electrons.

 

If you take account of the idea that some things take time and effort even more things become imposssible.

It might be possible to put a man on Mars; but it's impossible to do it this weekend, or cheaply.

Since I don't expect to live forever, a whole lot of things are impossible for me.

Taking those limitations into account it seems that a vast number of things are impossible.

The next question would be are more things possible than impossible?

This involves comparing two infinte sets and I'm not sure if that's impossible.

[igosaur]

Impossible??

 

Coming up with something that is impossible.

[thedarkshade]

Coming up with something that is impossible.

That's purely possible.

[igosaur]

For an entity to be both omnipotent and omniscient at the same time.

[D H]

Impossible??

Coming up with something that is impossible.

 

These are known to be impossible:

• Finding a rational expression for [math]\sqrt 2[/math] or [math]\pi[/math]
  
• Squaring the circle
  
• Find a solution to [math]a^3+b^3=c^3[/math] in the positive integers
  
• Finding a generic method for solving quintic equations
  
• Proving that a computer program will stop.

 

These are most likely impossible:

• Finding a polynomial-type solution to the traveling salesman problem
  
• Killing your paternal grandpa a year before your father was born
  
• Traveling faster than the speed of light.

[thedarkshade]

For an entity to be both omnipotent and omniscient at the same time.

Well prove that entity exists!

 

(I know what you mean, I'm on your side:))

[igosaur]

Now that's impossible!

 

Well prove that entity exists!

 

(I know what you mean, I'm on your side:))

[Phi for All]

Well prove that entity exists!

If you'll allow me omnipresence (which is kind of granted by omnipotence), I can prove an omniscient and omnipotent God exists. Outside the flow of time there wouldn't be a paradox.

[Sayonara]

If you'll allow me omnipresence (which is kind of granted by omnipotence), I can prove an omniscient and omnipotent God exists. Outside the flow of time there wouldn't be a paradox.

 

If it is outside the flow of time, does it exist for our purposes?

[Phi for All]

If it is outside the flow of time, does it exist for our purposes?

If you were omniscient, you wouldn't have to ask that. If you were omnipotent then everything would exist for your purposes. And if you were omnipresent, I'm guessing you'd be standing behind me right now, katana ready to swing if I typed anoth

[Sayonara]

Anybody else want to play god?

[ydoaPs]

If you were omniscient, you wouldn't have to ask that. If you were omnipotent then everything would exist for your purposes. And if you were omnipresent, I'm guessing you'd be standing behind me right now, katana ready to swing if I typed anoth

 

"Can an omniscient god, who

knows the future, find

the omnipotence to

change his future mind?"

--Karen Owens

[Mr Skeptic]

Of course, if you were omnipotent but not omniscient, you could just make yourself omniscient.

[thedarkshade]

"Can an omniscient god, who

knows the future, find

the omnipotence to

change his future mind?"

--Karen Owens

Ummm... source: The God Delusion (I guess)

[ydoaPs]

Ummm... source: The God Delusion (I guess)

 

Karen Owens wrote The God Delusion? My copy says it's by some guy named Richard Dawkins. He's the

to the doc to the PhD. He's smarter than you; he's got a science degree!

[thedarkshade]

Karen Owens wrote The God Delusion? My copy says it's by some guy named Richard Dawkins. He's the

to the doc to the PhD. He's smarter than you; he's got a science degree!

Oh YDOAPS, stop fooling around. It's not a complicated thing to know. If you have read TGD you must have seen this part used in it. And yeah, great song btw:-)

[John Cuthber]

Can an omnipotent God set Himself a task He can't acomplish?

Does an omniscient God know a question He can't answer.

After a while this sort of thing doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

There are plenty of impossible things.

[thedarkshade]

Anybody else want to play god?

I remember you being a god once this year>

[Calabi-Yau]

The only thing that is impossible is defying the fundamental laws of physics, as by them all exists and occurs, without them nothing can exist, all is by them.

 

HOWEVER, by them, following them, of which all is, by which all occurs, one can do ANYTHING.

[Farsight]

1. That which will be done within decades, or 100 years at latest. Examples include teleportation of small items - up to virus size, and invisibility.

 

Teleportation is impossible. You can contrive a kind of "fax machine", but it isn't genuine teleportation.

 

2. That which will happen hundreds or thousands of years in the future. Examples include teleportation of large objects, including humans.

 

Impossible. Honestly, how he gets away with this sort of garbage just beats me. And the wormholes and the time travel. Tosh.

 

3. That which is totally impossible. Examples include precognition and perpetual motion machines.

 

Precognition is impossible.

 

I wouldn't say a perpetual motion machine is impossible. The earth moves perpetually. But there's no free lunch. If you get energy out of it, that energy has to come from somewhere. And think about it. If you could teleport an object, you could repeat it continuously, and use that to drive a perpetual motion machine.