Discussion » Questions » Humor and Jokes » What's brown, furry, and equivalent to the axiom of choice?

What's brown, furry, and equivalent to the axiom of choice?

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Posted - August 12, 2016

Responses


  • 2758

    A donkey. :-)

      August 13, 2016 1:29 AM MDT
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  • The Axiom of Choice = given any collection of mutually disjoint nonempty sets, it is possible to assemble a new set—a transversal or choice set—containing exactly one element from each member of the given collection.

    So if you had several herds of brown mammals---shall we say, camels, horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, dogs, deer, perhaps even the browns of all mammals---you could collect together a mated pair (maybe this two is a cheat, but two gametes are needed to make a whole, so a pair can act in concert as one element) of each species and combine them in a menagerie or zoo.

    Noah's Ark might qualify as a brown, furry axiom of choice.

    OK. So pairs don't count.

    Perhaps a fashion entrepreneur wants to stage a display of the latest designs in furs, and so travels around to every furrier, and selects from each warehouse the most spectacular designs, each in a different species of brown pelt. Worn by models with brown hair coming from all parts of the world, the resulting extravaganza could be titled "The Axiom of Choice."

      August 13, 2016 2:07 AM MDT
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