5 ms·

A horse, you see, has an infinite number of legs. It has two hind legs, aside from its fourlegs. Which means it has six legs. Now six is an even number, so i

A horse, you see, has an infinite number of legs. It has two hind legs, aside from its fourlegs. Which means it has six legs. Now six is an even number, so it must have an even number of legs. But six is an odd number of legs for a horse to have, so it has an odd number of legs. The only number that is both odd an even is infinity. Since a horse has both an odd an even number of legs, it must have infinite legs. But there is one horse, that not only has an infinite number of legs, it has legs that are infinitely long. And here it is!

ffhhj 4y ago
What is also infinite to scroll and is expelled by horses?
throwaway1777 4y ago
My brain hurts
sigmonsays 4y ago
well if there is two horses...
- ARandomerDude 4y ago
  Perhaps a large, wooden badger.
sandworm101 4y ago
Zero is both odd and even. Horses do not have legs.
- gweinberg 4y ago
  Umm, zero is even. Zero is not odd.
  - klyrs 4y ago
    If you draw a zero centered on the origin, it describes a two-valued function y = ±sqrt(1-x^2) which is odd. Zero is odd if you really really REALLY want it to be.
Waterluvian 4y ago
And the infinite-legged horse said, “I can’t stand sitting, so I need a hand standing.”
layer8 4y ago
> The only number that is both odd an even is infinity. That doesn’t seem correct: https://math.stackexchange.com/a/49046/429295 https://math.stackexchange.com/a/49046/429295
- marzell 4y ago
  infinity is not a number.
  - layer8 4y ago
    It is a transfinite ordinal number, and the linked text explains how "even" and "odd" are defined for those.
    - thaumasiotes 4y ago
      "Infinity is a transfinite ordinal number" is a lot more definitive of a claim than you can justify making. There are different systems and they use different infinite quantities. Nonstandard analysis doesn't bother with ordinal numbers, but it has plenty of infinite numbers. "Infinity" without further specification seems more likely to refer to the concept in the extended reals (where there are exactly two infinite numbers) than to refer to the concept of infinite ordinal numbers. The obvious analysis would appear to be that, not being an integer, it cannot be considered either even or odd, but there might be a convention I don't know about.
      - layer8 4y ago
        Since most reals are not either even and odd, I don’t know why you find the extended reals the more likely interpretation of “infinity” in the context of that question. In any case, the GGP objected to infinity being a number, but however you slice it, it is either an ordinal or cardinal number. And the GGGGP claimed that infinity is both even and odd, but however you slice it, it is at most one of those. I found it being either even or odd, as in the ordinals, more interesting, that’s why I gave that link.
ketanmaheshwari 4y ago
What does this mean? Could someone please clarify what this prose / poem means or what is the author's intention? Going completely over my head.
- realworldperson 4y ago
  [dead]
- michaelnoguera 4y ago
  The author has devised a logical argument based off drawing equivalences between similar sounding words ("forelegs" vs "four legs"). The absurdity of the conclusion that a horse has infinite legs and the novelty of the invalid leaps in reasoning makes the story humorous.
- jdkee 4y ago
  A mare has four (4) legs. But no mare, meaning there is not any mare such that it has five (5) legs. Thus the cardinality of "no mare" > the cardinality of "mare".
- akiselev 4y ago
  It's a series of misspellings, puns, and tortured logic. > It has two hind legs, aside from its fourlegs. Hind legs are the opposite of forelegs so the statement is true but misspelled, and [---tortured logic here---] two hind legs plus "four" forelegs totals to six legs. > Which means it has six legs... Now six is an even number, so it must have an even number of legs... But six is an odd number of legs for a horse to have, so it has an odd number of legs. Six is an even number but it's "odd" - as in strange - for a horse to have six legs so horses [---tortured logic here---] must also have an odd - as in mathematical - number of legs. > The only number that is both odd an even is infinity. Since a horse has both an odd an even number of legs, it must have infinite legs. Infinity is a complicated "number" with different interpretations and [---tortured pure math here---] if you stretch some of them to the breaking point, the only horse that can have both an "even" and an "odd" number of legs is one that "must have infinite legs" > But there is one horse, that not only has an infinite number of legs, it has legs that are infinitely long. This plays on the ambiguity of "infinite legs" which could mean an "infinite number of legs" or "infinitely long legs". All in all, thumbs up. Cost me some cherry switches thanks to projectile tea.
michaelnoguera 4y ago
Cries logical Bobby to Ned, will you dare A bet, which has most legs, a mare, or no mare. A mare, to be sure, replied Ned, with a grin, And fifty I’ll lay, for I’m certain to win. Quoth Bob, you have lost, sure as you are alive, A mare has but four legs, and no mare has five. - from A Panorama of Wit, 1809, p. 53
- hooli_gan 4y ago
  Care to explain? I don't get it
  - xypage 4y ago
    They bet on whether a horse or no horse has more legs, guy says a horse duh, other guy says haha but a horse has 4 legs and no horse has 5. This means horses don't have 5 legs so no horse has 5, but also taken very literally "no horse has 5" means no horse has more than a horse, 5 vs 4, so they win the bet.
rubyist5eva 4y ago
> But there is one horse, that not only has an infinite number of legs, it has legs that are infinitely long. You had me until this one. Even the tortured logic made sense to me until this point and it feels like this was just shoehorned in to make it work..unless I'm missing something?
pjot 4y ago
This would be a great example for the definition of “truthy[0]” a truthy value is a value that is considered true when encountered in a Boolean context. [0]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Truthy https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Truthy
kmoser 4y ago
I've been through the network on a horse with no end It felt good to scroll down again On the Internet you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one horse to give you no pain
SanjayMehta 4y ago
There's a version which proves Alexander had an infinite number of arms. Alexander was a great general. Great generals are forewarned. Forewarned is fore armed. But four is an odd number for a general to have. ...
xg15 4y ago
> The only number that is both odd an even is infinity. Couldn't the horse have zero legs too?

ffhhj 4y ago

What is also infinite to scroll and is expelled by horses?

throwaway1777 4y ago

My brain hurts

sigmonsays 4y ago

well if there is two horses...

ARandomerDude 4y ago
Perhaps a large, wooden badger.

sandworm101 4y ago

Zero is both odd and even. Horses do not have legs.

gweinberg 4y ago
Umm, zero is even. Zero is not odd.
- klyrs 4y ago
  If you draw a zero centered on the origin, it describes a two-valued function y = ±sqrt(1-x^2) which is odd. Zero is odd if you really really REALLY want it to be.

Waterluvian 4y ago

And the infinite-legged horse said, “I can’t stand sitting, so I need a hand standing.”

layer8 4y ago

> The only number that is both odd an even is infinity. That doesn’t seem correct: https://math.stackexchange.com/a/49046/429295 https://math.stackexchange.com/a/49046/429295

marzell 4y ago
infinity is not a number.
- layer8 4y ago
  It is a transfinite ordinal number, and the linked text explains how "even" and "odd" are defined for those.
  - thaumasiotes 4y ago
    "Infinity is a transfinite ordinal number" is a lot more definitive of a claim than you can justify making. There are different systems and they use different infinite quantities. Nonstandard analysis doesn't bother with ordinal numbers, but it has plenty of infinite numbers. "Infinity" without further specification seems more likely to refer to the concept in the extended reals (where there are exactly two infinite numbers) than to refer to the concept of infinite ordinal numbers. The obvious analysis would appear to be that, not being an integer, it cannot be considered either even or odd, but there might be a convention I don't know about.
    - layer8 4y ago
      Since most reals are not either even and odd, I don’t know why you find the extended reals the more likely interpretation of “infinity” in the context of that question. In any case, the GGP objected to infinity being a number, but however you slice it, it is either an ordinal or cardinal number. And the GGGGP claimed that infinity is both even and odd, but however you slice it, it is at most one of those. I found it being either even or odd, as in the ordinals, more interesting, that’s why I gave that link.

ketanmaheshwari 4y ago

What does this mean? Could someone please clarify what this prose / poem means or what is the author's intention? Going completely over my head.

realworldperson 4y ago
[dead]
michaelnoguera 4y ago
The author has devised a logical argument based off drawing equivalences between similar sounding words ("forelegs" vs "four legs"). The absurdity of the conclusion that a horse has infinite legs and the novelty of the invalid leaps in reasoning makes the story humorous.
jdkee 4y ago
A mare has four (4) legs. But no mare, meaning there is not any mare such that it has five (5) legs. Thus the cardinality of "no mare" > the cardinality of "mare".
akiselev 4y ago
It's a series of misspellings, puns, and tortured logic. > It has two hind legs, aside from its fourlegs. Hind legs are the opposite of forelegs so the statement is true but misspelled, and [---tortured logic here---] two hind legs plus "four" forelegs totals to six legs. > Which means it has six legs... Now six is an even number, so it must have an even number of legs... But six is an odd number of legs for a horse to have, so it has an odd number of legs. Six is an even number but it's "odd" - as in strange - for a horse to have six legs so horses [---tortured logic here---] must also have an odd - as in mathematical - number of legs. > The only number that is both odd an even is infinity. Since a horse has both an odd an even number of legs, it must have infinite legs. Infinity is a complicated "number" with different interpretations and [---tortured pure math here---] if you stretch some of them to the breaking point, the only horse that can have both an "even" and an "odd" number of legs is one that "must have infinite legs" > But there is one horse, that not only has an infinite number of legs, it has legs that are infinitely long. This plays on the ambiguity of "infinite legs" which could mean an "infinite number of legs" or "infinitely long legs". All in all, thumbs up. Cost me some cherry switches thanks to projectile tea.

michaelnoguera 4y ago

Cries logical Bobby to Ned, will you dare A bet, which has most legs, a mare, or no mare. A mare, to be sure, replied Ned, with a grin, And fifty I’ll lay, for I’m certain to win. Quoth Bob, you have lost, sure as you are alive, A mare has but four legs, and no mare has five. - from A Panorama of Wit, 1809, p. 53

hooli_gan 4y ago
Care to explain? I don't get it
- xypage 4y ago
  They bet on whether a horse or no horse has more legs, guy says a horse duh, other guy says haha but a horse has 4 legs and no horse has 5. This means horses don't have 5 legs so no horse has 5, but also taken very literally "no horse has 5" means no horse has more than a horse, 5 vs 4, so they win the bet.

rubyist5eva 4y ago

> But there is one horse, that not only has an infinite number of legs, it has legs that are infinitely long. You had me until this one. Even the tortured logic made sense to me until this point and it feels like this was just shoehorned in to make it work..unless I'm missing something?

pjot 4y ago

This would be a great example for the definition of “truthy[0]” a truthy value is a value that is considered true when encountered in a Boolean context. [0]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Truthy https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Truthy

kmoser 4y ago

I've been through the network on a horse with no end It felt good to scroll down again On the Internet you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one horse to give you no pain

SanjayMehta 4y ago

There's a version which proves Alexander had an infinite number of arms. Alexander was a great general. Great generals are forewarned. Forewarned is fore armed. But four is an odd number for a general to have. ...

xg15 4y ago

> The only number that is both odd an even is infinity. Couldn't the horse have zero legs too?