Talk:Cain's Jawbone

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Number of combinations[edit]

Many news articles say there are 32 million possible combinations, but if it's 100 factorial, 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 [...] x 98 x 99 x 100, then it is much bigger, a very very very very very big number. Possibly a septillion, 1000000000000000000000000, or maybe more twl_corinthian (talk) 13:16, 14 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

You are correct. Not at all clear to me where 32 million has come from. This reminds me of the original advert for Rubik's Cube which stated "over 3 billion combinations, 1 solution" when the actual number of combinations is far higher. The actual number of combinations for Cain's Jawbone is indeed 100 factorial, or:

93326215443944152681699238856266700490715968264381621

46859296389521759999322991560894146397615651828625369

7920827223758251185210916864000000000000000000000000 Awoma (talk) 10:32, 26 December 2020 (UTC)[reply]

I just corrected it. I don't even know where 34 million is taken from, but it's certainly wrong Sasitore01 (talk) 21:00, 9 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]

A permutation / factorial calculator takes the guesswork out of things. As mentioned above, the actual value is...

93,326,215,443,944,152,681,699,238,856,266,700,490,715,968,264,381,621, 468,592,963,895,217,599,993,229,915,608,941,463,976,156,518,286,253,697, 920,827,223,758,251,185,210,916,864,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

https://www.calculator.net/permutation-and-combination-calculator.html?cnv=100&crv=100&x=Calculate

Number of permutations > ninety-three unquinquagintillion

https://googology.fandom.com/wiki/Unquinquagintillion

Of course permutation / factorial is a mathematical concept of possibility and not an actual or realistic probability. Once we assume (dare I say realize) a dozen pages or so are tied together by quotations and punctuation, or we group together an easy chapter (eg Paul Trinder), that 93 unquinquagintillion drops significantly to a meagre 185 tresquadragintillion possible combinations (or a paltry 61 tretrigintillion, if you manage both pairings as well as a chapter). And so on down to whatever arbitrary number takes the fancy of whoever is flogging the work.

So, the reality is that the use of 32 million is simply a marketing strategy which attempts to make comprehensible to a lay audience a value of unimaginable proportion. These people are selling books; they are not interested in the accuracy of their, or anyone else's, mathematical calculations or claims. Ronald Blake (talk) 01:20, 12 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

1935 prizes[edit]

The Telegraph says the two winners got £15 each, but the Guardian says £25 each. Anyone know which is right? twl_corinthian (talk) 13:16, 14 November 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Name[edit]

Why did the article say it refers to Cain and Abel and the first ever murder weapon? Cain used a rock. Samson used a jawbone, right? 73.243.98.208 (talk) 03:18, 31 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

It’s a reference to Hamlet, act V, scene i, where the gravedigger mentions “Cain’s jaw-bone that did the first murder”. Given the cryptic nature of the puzzle, it’s probably a clue that the jawbone is mentioned in Hamlet but not the Bible. 174.29.95.98 (talk) 05:34, 5 January 2023 (UTC)[reply]