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The Infinite Hotel Paradox - Jeff Dekofsky

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The Infinite Hotel, a thought experiment created by German mathematician David Hilbert, is a hotel with an infinite number of rooms. Easy to comprehend, right? Wrong. What if it’s completely booked but one person wants to check in? What about 40? Or an infinitely full bus of people? Jeff Dekofsky solves these heady lodging issues using Hilbert’s paradox.

Why are there no overlapping room numbers when we use the natural number powers of the prime numbers to assign room numbers?

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Jeff Dekofsky
  • Director Nadav Arbel
  • Artist Yoni Boaz
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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