An infinite number of monkeys mashing randomly will eventually produce the complete works of Shakespeare. However, 88 times more often, they'll produce the almost-complete works of Shakespeare, with just the last letter wrong, and that's gotta be frustrating.

Even if 99.9999999999999999999999999999%

That assumption is the sticking point. Without determining details of the thought experiment, we have no reason to believe that the probability of a monkey to use more than 15 keys is above exactly zero. We're not arguing 90% vs 99.99999, we're arguing 99.99999 vs 100.

Whether you get infinite legible works or none depends on whether the average probability of a monkey producing a legible work is 0.00000...01% or exactly 0%, which depends on details of the thought experiment as well as personal philosophical views.

If the infinite monkeys all have diverse genetics and upbringings, and an infinite number of typewriters each, with each copy of genetically-identical monkeys selecting random keys differently from each other, the situation can be described as "infinite monkeys with infinite typewriters producing infinite copies of infinite works".

If the infinite monkeys are all identical clones of a monkey with some genetic predisposition for dismantling technology, with one identical typewriter apiece, isolated in cubicles identical to the quantum level, and supposing that such a setup works in a deterministic way, the situation can be described as "infinite monkeys with infinite typewriters producing zero works, because they all smashed their typewriter in one perfectly synchronized motion".

/r/Showerthoughts Thread Parent