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	<title>Comments on: The Clarkkkkson vs. the xkcd Number</title>
	<atom:link href="http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/</link>
	<description>The blag of the webcomic</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:04:11 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>By: medyum</title>
		<link>http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/comment-page-3/#comment-29981</link>
		<dc:creator>medyum</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:00:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/#comment-29981</guid>
		<description>That would be the Busy Beaver, to the order of the Busy Beaver function of Graham’s number, function of Ackerman’s function given two xkcd numbers.

But on another note; the Clarkkkkson number kind of cheats because it isn’t a solid unchanging number.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>That would be the Busy Beaver, to the order of the Busy Beaver function of Graham’s number, function of Ackerman’s function given two xkcd numbers.</p>
<p>But on another note; the Clarkkkkson number kind of cheats because it isn’t a solid unchanging number.</p>
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		<title>By: Steve</title>
		<link>http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/comment-page-3/#comment-29797</link>
		<dc:creator>Steve</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:48:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/#comment-29797</guid>
		<description>Grahams number is much larger than the odds for the entire universe to have &#039;randomly&#039; quantum tunneled to the exact same spot, for every possible quantum state of the entire universe, all at once, every plank time from the big bang until the heat death of the universe.

&quot;Much larger&quot; itself being a laughable understatement. Consider: 
G1 = 3^^^^3 = 3^^^(3^^^3)

3^^^3 = 
3^3^...^3^3 
\_________/ 
3^3^3 //This is the LENGTH of the layer above.
\____/
3

Where 3^3^3 is 7.6 trillion, 3^3^3^3 is larger than a googol (which is larger than the number of elemental particles in the universe), 3^3^3^3^3 is larger than a googolplex (more 0s than there are elemental particles in the universe) and each of the 7.6 trillion 3s is another complete and total change in scope. Then we substitute that in:

3^^^(here)

3^^^(that big number) means:

3^3^...^3^3 
\_________/
3^3^...^3^3 
\_________/
3^3^...^3^3 
\_________/
...
... Using the &#039;big number&#039; as the number of layers. 
...
3^3^3
\____/
3

That&#039;s G1. G2 has G1 arrows. 
3^^^^^3 = 3^^^^(3^^^^3)
3^^^^^^3 = 3^^^^^(3^^^^^3)
...
3^^^... G1 times ... ^^^3
Each additional arrow makes the previous step trivial by comparison.
G3 has G2 arrows.
Etc.

And yet, given all that, much larger numbers have been devised, where G64 itself is insufficient for describing how much of an understatement &quot;much larger&quot; is. If you wish to see a cleaner visual representation of G1, you can check the wiki entry here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham&#039;s_number

Grahams number is so large because it is an upper bound on the concept of forming a sub graph in one of an arbitrary number of dimensions in a graph so large that even a purely chaotic distribution must have some small sections of order within it.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Grahams number is much larger than the odds for the entire universe to have &#8216;randomly&#8217; quantum tunneled to the exact same spot, for every possible quantum state of the entire universe, all at once, every plank time from the big bang until the heat death of the universe.</p>
<p>&#8220;Much larger&#8221; itself being a laughable understatement. Consider:<br />
G1 = 3^^^^3 = 3^^^(3^^^3)</p>
<p>3^^^3 =<br />
3^3^&#8230;^3^3<br />
\_________/<br />
3^3^3 //This is the LENGTH of the layer above.<br />
\____/<br />
3</p>
<p>Where 3^3^3 is 7.6 trillion, 3^3^3^3 is larger than a googol (which is larger than the number of elemental particles in the universe), 3^3^3^3^3 is larger than a googolplex (more 0s than there are elemental particles in the universe) and each of the 7.6 trillion 3s is another complete and total change in scope. Then we substitute that in:</p>
<p>3^^^(here)</p>
<p>3^^^(that big number) means:</p>
<p>3^3^&#8230;^3^3<br />
\_________/<br />
3^3^&#8230;^3^3<br />
\_________/<br />
3^3^&#8230;^3^3<br />
\_________/<br />
&#8230;<br />
&#8230; Using the &#8216;big number&#8217; as the number of layers.<br />
&#8230;<br />
3^3^3<br />
\____/<br />
3</p>
<p>That&#8217;s G1. G2 has G1 arrows.<br />
3^^^^^3 = 3^^^^(3^^^^3)<br />
3^^^^^^3 = 3^^^^^(3^^^^^3)<br />
&#8230;<br />
3^^^&#8230; G1 times &#8230; ^^^3<br />
Each additional arrow makes the previous step trivial by comparison.<br />
G3 has G2 arrows.<br />
Etc.</p>
<p>And yet, given all that, much larger numbers have been devised, where G64 itself is insufficient for describing how much of an understatement &#8220;much larger&#8221; is. If you wish to see a cleaner visual representation of G1, you can check the wiki entry here:<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham</a>&#8217;s_number</p>
<p>Grahams number is so large because it is an upper bound on the concept of forming a sub graph in one of an arbitrary number of dimensions in a graph so large that even a purely chaotic distribution must have some small sections of order within it.</p>
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		<title>By: BillorTed</title>
		<link>http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/comment-page-3/#comment-29375</link>
		<dc:creator>BillorTed</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:35:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/#comment-29375</guid>
		<description>Or guess I should ask first, is Graham&#039;s number by itself already that big?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Or guess I should ask first, is Graham&#8217;s number by itself already that big?</p>
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		<title>By: BillorTed</title>
		<link>http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/comment-page-3/#comment-29374</link>
		<dc:creator>BillorTed</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:34:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/#comment-29374</guid>
		<description>Is G--&gt;G--&gt;G--&gt;G--&gt;G--&gt;G--&gt;G--&gt;G--&gt;G
greater than the number of times any conceivably measurable particle in the universe has moved a distance of 1 Plank length since the Big Bang?</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Is G&#8211;&gt;G&#8211;&gt;G&#8211;&gt;G&#8211;&gt;G&#8211;&gt;G&#8211;&gt;G&#8211;&gt;G&#8211;&gt;G<br />
greater than the number of times any conceivably measurable particle in the universe has moved a distance of 1 Plank length since the Big Bang?</p>
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		<title>By: Steve</title>
		<link>http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/comment-page-3/#comment-28858</link>
		<dc:creator>Steve</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:19:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/#comment-28858</guid>
		<description>Er, also, I&#039;m not the same Steve that posted earlier.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Er, also, I&#8217;m not the same Steve that posted earlier.</p>
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	</item>
	<item>
		<title>By: Steve</title>
		<link>http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/comment-page-3/#comment-28826</link>
		<dc:creator>Steve</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:25:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/#comment-28826</guid>
		<description>Er, Gn &lt; L(n) &lt; G(n+1). Wasn&#039;t paying attention to what I was typing.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Er, Gn &lt; L(n) &lt; G(n+1). Wasn&#8217;t paying attention to what I was typing.</p>
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		<title>By: Steve</title>
		<link>http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/comment-page-3/#comment-28825</link>
		<dc:creator>Steve</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2009 21:24:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/#comment-28825</guid>
		<description>While referencing the Busy Beaver function isn&#039;t exactly cheating, you&#039;re referring to the maximum possible number of steps any describable function of a certain complexity could actually take, not defining a function itself.

It&#039;s the technical way of saying &quot;the biggest describable number + 1&quot;. Literally.

I&#039;ve been playing with a computable function (I call it the up function) I made that can generate some numbers larger than can be represented even by itself with smaller terms combined with any notation I have ever heard of. The nifty thing is it can also represent many NORMAL numbers. For example, up(1,0,3) = 4, up(3,0,3) = 12, up(1,0,m,n) ~ A(m,n) - it&#039;s almost exactly equal, but a tiny bit off on larger m values.

On the other hand, the only way I have come up with to describe the scale of up(3,2,3) is up(3,2,3). The second term of it is a real doozie - I call it the hyperrepeater - such that up(3,3,3) cannot be described in even in relation to up(3,2,3). Not even up(3,2,up(3,2,up(3,2,3))), or any traditionally way of noting how many times you substitute it into the third or first term.
Not even something like this:

up(3,2,up(3,2,up...up(3,2,3)...))
\________________/
 L^up(3,2,3)(up(3,2,3))

- using the L function mentioned in a previous post here. That&#039;s up(3,2,3) being called recursively into the L function &quot;up(3,2,3) times&quot; as the base for how many times to recursively call up(3,2,3) into it&#039;s third term. Still insignificant next to up(3,3,3).

Calling a larger number into the second term is quite meaningless.

It does not call on any other functions, it is fully computable, and the only operator it uses is addition. If I can ever formalize my notes on it (and make sure I keep all the credit!... and figure out how to describe the numbers it makes... or even understand them.) I may try to publicize it some day.

By the way, L grows somewhat like Grahams numbers. Gn &gt; L(n) &gt; G(n+1)</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>While referencing the Busy Beaver function isn&#8217;t exactly cheating, you&#8217;re referring to the maximum possible number of steps any describable function of a certain complexity could actually take, not defining a function itself.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s the technical way of saying &#8220;the biggest describable number + 1&#8243;. Literally.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve been playing with a computable function (I call it the up function) I made that can generate some numbers larger than can be represented even by itself with smaller terms combined with any notation I have ever heard of. The nifty thing is it can also represent many NORMAL numbers. For example, up(1,0,3) = 4, up(3,0,3) = 12, up(1,0,m,n) ~ A(m,n) &#8211; it&#8217;s almost exactly equal, but a tiny bit off on larger m values.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the only way I have come up with to describe the scale of up(3,2,3) is up(3,2,3). The second term of it is a real doozie &#8211; I call it the hyperrepeater &#8211; such that up(3,3,3) cannot be described in even in relation to up(3,2,3). Not even up(3,2,up(3,2,up(3,2,3))), or any traditionally way of noting how many times you substitute it into the third or first term.<br />
Not even something like this:</p>
<p>up(3,2,up(3,2,up&#8230;up(3,2,3)&#8230;))<br />
\________________/<br />
 L^up(3,2,3)(up(3,2,3))</p>
<p>- using the L function mentioned in a previous post here. That&#8217;s up(3,2,3) being called recursively into the L function &#8220;up(3,2,3) times&#8221; as the base for how many times to recursively call up(3,2,3) into it&#8217;s third term. Still insignificant next to up(3,3,3).</p>
<p>Calling a larger number into the second term is quite meaningless.</p>
<p>It does not call on any other functions, it is fully computable, and the only operator it uses is addition. If I can ever formalize my notes on it (and make sure I keep all the credit!&#8230; and figure out how to describe the numbers it makes&#8230; or even understand them.) I may try to publicize it some day.</p>
<p>By the way, L grows somewhat like Grahams numbers. Gn &gt; L(n) &gt; G(n+1)</p>
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		<title>By: Vincent</title>
		<link>http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/comment-page-3/#comment-28546</link>
		<dc:creator>Vincent</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2009 06:40:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/#comment-28546</guid>
		<description>hmm, ok, &amp;= one googolplex
then substitute this value into the expression
hypf(hypf(&amp;,&amp;,&amp;),hypf(&amp;,&amp;,&amp;),hypf(&amp;,&amp;,&amp;) hereon defined as @
Then we have
hypf(hypf(@,@,@)hypf(@,@,@)hypf(@,@,@)
This is the base for what is now defined as $
every attosecond this happens to the number $
hypf($,$,$)
Thereby completely outpacing the Clarkkkkson number and growing at a much faster rate than anything ever before.
I&#039;m actually not very good at maths and can anyone tell me if this works? If it does it stumps me why nobody thought of it yet.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>hmm, ok, &amp;= one googolplex<br />
then substitute this value into the expression<br />
hypf(hypf(&amp;,&amp;,&amp;),hypf(&amp;,&amp;,&amp;),hypf(&amp;,&amp;,&amp;) hereon defined as @<br />
Then we have<br />
hypf(hypf(@,@,@)hypf(@,@,@)hypf(@,@,@)<br />
This is the base for what is now defined as $<br />
every attosecond this happens to the number $<br />
hypf($,$,$)<br />
Thereby completely outpacing the Clarkkkkson number and growing at a much faster rate than anything ever before.<br />
I&#8217;m actually not very good at maths and can anyone tell me if this works? If it does it stumps me why nobody thought of it yet.</p>
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		<title>By: mp3s Jamie Foxx</title>
		<link>http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/comment-page-3/#comment-27065</link>
		<dc:creator>mp3s Jamie Foxx</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Apr 2009 06:10:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/#comment-27065</guid>
		<description>&lt;strong&gt;Intuition Track list...&lt;/strong&gt;

Foxx released hissecond studio disc, Unpredictable,   winter 2005. It positioned at #2, selling 598,000 discs in its first week....</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Intuition Track list&#8230;</strong></p>
<p>Foxx released hissecond studio disc, Unpredictable,   winter 2005. It positioned at #2, selling 598,000 discs in its first week&#8230;.</p>
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		<title>By: Deedlit</title>
		<link>http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/comment-page-3/#comment-25927</link>
		<dc:creator>Deedlit</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:50:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/01/11/the-clarkkkkson-vs-the-xkcd-number/#comment-25927</guid>
		<description>@SnapDragon - Well, not *everything* loses to BB.

Let n be the largest number that is the unique number satisfying
some formula in the first order language of arithmetic with less
than a google characters.

This beats anything you can generate by busy beaver applications...</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>@SnapDragon &#8211; Well, not *everything* loses to BB.</p>
<p>Let n be the largest number that is the unique number satisfying<br />
some formula in the first order language of arithmetic with less<br />
than a google characters.</p>
<p>This beats anything you can generate by busy beaver applications&#8230;</p>
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