Unofficial Tex Murphy

Hi folks,

Guess the meaning of this word (please don't cheat and look it up online). For fun just guess and we'll see who gets the closest and who comes up with the funniest guess. No prize just the feeling of superiority.

Googolplex

I happen to know the answer. As in - the correct answer. And am therefore disqualified from saying anything funny.

I will however comment that it has a STRIKING resemblance to a well-known online search engine.

-Fred

I think I know the answer too it's a really large number. Yeah I spent some time looking at all the fancy names for high numbers and their prefixes like octillion. As to how many 10's I can't remember.

My guess is 1 googol times 1 googol.

I'm with the really high number theory. In fact, it may be an undeterminable number (I have NOT looked up its meaning). If I'm not mistaken, Doc Brown in the third Bact to the Future movie mentioned this number.

Then again my knowledge of this entire universe is limited to my visitations to this message board.

I think Doc Brown referred to gigawatts as a unit of electricity for the lightning bolt.


The nerdy response would be:
You guys are asymptotically approaching the correct solution.

Googleplex refers to a character from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy... A good set of books I might add...

It is also the name of the building/buildings that make Google's Headquarters...

However I do remember hearing it being referred to as the biggest number in the known universe back in school...
So those thinking number would technically be correct as well...



No I didn't look it up... At least not recently... I looked it up about 2 years ago...

Are you thinking of Zaphod Beeblebrox from Hitchhiker's Guide? The two-headed guy?

I'll give the correct answer tomorrow so you guys won't have to wait long.

No, Googleplex StarThinker {I believe was the whole name}... This is from the Novels, not the movie...

sam10100 wrote:I think Doc Brown referred to gigawatts as a unit of electricity for the lightning bolt.

Doc Brown also used the word Googoplex when talking to Clara in BTTF Part3, where he said she was "one in a million, one in a googoplex"...

To me it refers to a number of inexplicable value, the closest representation of a figure just shy of saying "infinity".

-Cub. =o)

How I came to know this is actually quite a boring story. I learned it in school. The WHY I remember it however, is... well... equally boring. I just remembered it because, at the time, it blew me out of my norwegian mind. I was nine. Maybe ten.

Bjyman is thinking in the right direction, buuut his mathematics is off.

It's fascinating to me that this question was posed to us (posted to us?) by a rocket scientist.

I find calling you a rocket scientist more fun than NASA employee or aeronautical engineer, Sam

God knows I didn't invent the gunpowder - I was merely in close proximity when they tested it

Also, sleep. I'm nearing done with my bit on the story, and I am hoping to have it up by sunday. Considering this is my 64-hour work-week, we've had a heat-wave and I have gotten way too little sleep and way too much grass pollen... Well, it's a wonder I'm able to finish by this weekend at all.

-Fred

Googolplex is probably the correct number in celcius to just how hot it is outside right now. With the AC blowing full force the house barely manages to stay under 31C.

Frank wrote:Googolplex is probably the correct number in celcius to just how hot it is outside right now. With the AC blowing full force the house barely manages to stay under 31C.

And you're saying this from up North... Try being down here in the middle of the East Coast... Been crazy here... We've already had several deaths related to the heat...

Is there more then one entry per person allowed? If so my second entry is 1 googol to the googolth power.

It is a psychological complex in which those who suffer from it believe that all knowledge can only be found through google.

It is a movie theater where you can google, but on a big screen! You must take turns, and discretion is unavailable as there will be an audience for your google searches.

As for the real answer, I don't know and don't care to wait. So I looked it up.

Geez talk about impatient. I was only going to make you guys wait one day.

Okay here's the answer.

google - popular search engine

googol - 10 raised to the 100th power (10^100) or 1 followed by a 100 zeros

googolplex - 10 raised to the googol power (10^(10^100)). A very big freaking number but less than infinity.

*************************

Byman came the closest in thinking the number was some way based upon a googol. Congratulations.

Fred, I learned this term when I was a kid and the concept totally blew my mind as well. It stuck in my head ever since.

Vracar you came by a close coincidence. The Simpsons had an episode where the family was going to the movie theater and they went to the Googolplex.



Cub, Jim, I had totally forgotten that line from BTTF Part3. Got to admit I saw that one the least times out of the trilogy. I must admit finding a woman who's one in a googolplex would make her a very special lady.