How do we know?

March 10, 2018, 10:53 AM

Rick_Perry

quote:
Originally posted by 21bubba:
How do we know that no snowflakes are the same?

That's funny you ask? I had this same exact thought 2 days ago when it was snowing. How can anyone make this claim? I call BS! I need hard proof.

March 10, 2018, 10:53 AM

Graniteguy

Because they are all so very special....

March 10, 2018, 11:30 AM

MNSIG

Given a few billion years of snowfall, I'd say it's quite likely that there have been many identical snowflakes. Crystals can form in many ways, but the numbers are not in favor of such an absolute.

March 10, 2018, 12:39 PM

Rey HRH

That's a good question. I think the idea of injecting randomness at every stage of snowflake development supports the theory.

The idea of no two humans can have the same thumbprint hasn't been shown to be false yet and there's a lot more variability in the production of snowflakes.

"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.

March 10, 2018, 04:55 PM

flashguy

Do we really care?

Given an eternity of time, one might suppose that 2 identical snowflakes could occur. (One thinks of the monkeys and typewriters.) Since a single snowflake is not likely to exceed a particular size, there is a finite (but enormous) limit on the number of possibilities how individual water molecules could add to the structure, so "never" the same is probably not provable. I suppose it is possible that 2 humans could randomly be created with the same DNA complement even when unrelated in any way, but that possibility does not impede use of DNA in genetic investigations.

flashguy

March 10, 2018, 07:42 PM

David Lee

quote:
Originally posted by flashguy:
Do we really care?

Given an eternity of time, one might suppose that 2 identical snowflakes could occur. (One thinks of the monkeys and typewriters.) Since a single snowflake is not likely to exceed a particular size, there is a finite (but enormous) limit on the number of possibilities how individual water molecules could add to the structure, so "never" the same is probably not provable. I suppose it is possible that 2 humans could randomly be created with the same DNA complement even when unrelated in any way, but that possibility does not impede use of DNA in genetic investigations.

flashguy

I've nothing to offer on snow flakes. I will forever recall, not accurately, your analogy of a fighter prop planes speed and the photogs camera settings. It left a lasting impression on my simpleton mind. Looking back, thank you for that flashguy.

March 10, 2018, 08:19 PM

flashguy

quote:
Originally posted by David Lee:
quote:
Originally posted by flashguy:
Do we really care?

Given an eternity of time, one might suppose that 2 identical snowflakes could occur. (One thinks of the monkeys and typewriters.) Since a single snowflake is not likely to exceed a particular size, there is a finite (but enormous) limit on the number of possibilities how individual water molecules could add to the structure, so "never" the same is probably not provable. I suppose it is possible that 2 humans could randomly be created with the same DNA complement even when unrelated in any way, but that possibility does not impede use of DNA in genetic investigations.

flashguy
I've nothing to offer on snow flakes. I will forever recall, not accurately, your analogy of a fighter prop planes speed and the photogs camera settings. It left a lasting impression on my simpleton mind. Looking back, thank you for that flashguy.

I'm guessing you meant "analysis", not "analogy", but you're welcome in any case.

flashguy