Out Of All The Things In The World That Have Never Happened That Has Never Happened The Most

Cynthia May

less than a minute read

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20-01-2025

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This sounds like a paradoxical question, doesn't it? Let's unpack it. The statement "out of all the things in the world that have never happened" implies an infinite set of possibilities. Picking the most from an infinite set is inherently problematic. There's no objective way to measure which "never happened" event surpasses all others in terms of "never-happened-ness".

The question hinges on our understanding of possibility and probability. We can imagine countless events that have never happened, ranging from the mundane (me winning the lottery tomorrow) to the extraordinary (extraterrestrial contact tomorrow). Some events are highly improbable, while others are theoretically possible but practically infeasible.

The crux of the matter is that "never happened" isn't a quantifiable characteristic. We can’t assign a numerical value to represent how much an event hasn’t happened. It's a qualitative state, not a quantitative one.

The Problem of Defining "Most"

The word "most" implies a comparison, a ranking system. To determine the "most" never-happened event, we’d need a metric – a way to measure the likelihood or improbability of an event. However, even with a metric, we’d still encounter issues.

Consider two scenarios:

1. A highly improbable event: A monkey typing out the complete works of Shakespeare by random keystrokes.
2. A theoretically impossible event: A square circle.

While both have never happened, they are fundamentally different. One is improbable but theoretically possible, whereas the other is logically impossible. Any attempt to rank them based on "never happened-ness" is inherently flawed.

The Philosophical Angle

This question delves into the realm of philosophical thought experiments. It forces us to consider the nature of possibility, impossibility, and the vast expanse of events that have not, and perhaps never will, occur. It's a question that highlights the limitations of our ability to quantify the unknown.

Ultimately, there's no satisfying answer to the question of which event has "never happened the most." The question itself is a playful paradox, highlighting the inherent ambiguity in dealing with an infinite set of nonexistent events.