Your Infinity Machine — Will Mannon

Can you do the bridge?

You know, the bridge. That card shuffle move where you cut the deck, overlap the edges, and pffffffffffffft, two halves gracefully cascade into one.

A smooth bridge will always impress the room. But before you deal your next hand, pause to look at your newly sorted deck:

Congrats, you just made history.

Your shuffle arranged the cards in an order that has never before existed. That’s right: the unique, specific order you’ve just shuffled your cards into has never before occurred in the history of playing cards. No matter how often you do the bridge, you create a never-before-seen order every time.

You’re skeptical. There’s no way! People have been playing cards for hundreds of years. Surely two decks have lined up at least once. Right?

In fact, there’s never been an identical shuffle and it’s not even close. The number of possible order combinations for a standard deck of playing cards is 52!, or 52 x 51 x 50 …… x 3 x 2 x 1. That number looks like this:

80658175170943878571660636856403766975289505440883277824000000000000

Roughly 8.06 x 10^67.

What?! Our brains aren’t wired to process numbers that large.

Let’s try anyway. Take a look at our cosmic neighborhood:

If you shuffle your deck once for every single atom in the solar system, you’d still only reach 10^57 possible arrangements. You’d have perform 10^57 separate shuffles more than 10 billion times to reach the total combinations possible in your deck of cards.

For context, a single grain of salt contains roughly one quintillion atoms (1,000,000,000,000,000,000). From there, imagine how many atoms make up a tree or your house, not to mention the sun (!). And still that number can’t touch your deck’s potential.

10^67 is a large, large number.

Unique Expression

Understanding the dizzying possibilities in a card deck not only stuns me -- it also makes me consider the infinite combination of ideas we’re capable of generating.

If rearranging fifty-two laminate rectangles creates more than 10^67 unique flavors, what can we each do with 100 billion neurons?!

I believe we’re all capable of expressing our interests in infinitely specific and rewarding ways. We all have some particular combination of ideas and pursuits that will make us feel alive, even if we’re not yet aware of our one-of-a-kind blend.

It’s easy to forget the staggering potential hiding between our ears. Calling your brain the “world’s greatest supercomputer” falls flat with overuse. Instead, choose to view your brain as an infinity machine. You can generate an endless stream of ideas and connections depending on what you decide think about. If a card deck holds 10^67 options, the number of ideas your brain can produce is functionally limitless.

Information abundance allows you to develop and share your never-before-seen flavor in ways that would make your ancestors jealous. And yet -- I think we shortchange ourselves by focusing on the wrong things.

What You Focus On

The internet gives us new ways to learn about niche topics and share ideas with like-minded thinkers. We’re no longer limited to one-size-fits-all media -- thousands of YouTube channels and podcast interviews encourage deep exploration of subjects outside the mainstream. Tools like Zoom and Discourse make worldwide discussion of off-the-wall ideas easier than ever. We’re in the early stages of a Cambrian Explosion of content that can align with your beautiful mix of interests.

Let’s say you listen to economist Tyler Cowen’s riveting podcast interview with neurosurgeon Ed Boyden. That episode inspires you to read more about machine-brain linkages. A Google search then takes you to Tim Urban’s post on Elon Musk’s foray into brain stimulus research. From there you might bounce around Elon’s other bold ideas (hyperloops, terraforming Mars), or maybe you explore Tim’s full body of work. Either choice could engage your curious mind for weeks.

Instead, most of us are hideously addicted to steady dopamine pricks, delivered via memes and clickbait. I’ve fallen prey countless times. Consistently poor inputs lead to shallow thoughts. Our conversations default to tepid opinions on consumption habits (food, shows) or small grievances. These uninspiring topics severely limit our infinity machines. Your brain needs grilled chicken and broccoli inputs to build unique ideas -- not a Cheetos buffet.

So next time you’re hanging with friends and conversation turns shallow, don’t be afraid to shuffle things up. Share those thrilling frontiers of neuroscience you heard about on Tyler’s podcast. Ponder Elon’s latest projects. Let these energizing ideas become your world.

Your Infinite Self

Media consumption habits don’t change overnight. The magnetic combinations of couch and remote, or phone and thumb, are strong. Sharing eccentric interests that fall outside the mainstream might be uncomfortable or awkward at times. But when your favorite ideas click with others, your conversations will sizzle with an urgency and excitement usually missing from Netflix shows or tzatziki sauce. As C.S. Lewis says,“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What, you too? I thought I was the only one!’”

A rich life is filled with these moments.

It’s easy to forget about our unique potential while living day to day. But you can remind yourself. Next time you look at the stars, picture the same universe reaching endlessly within you. Ask yourself what distinct interests light you up. Find out which conversations leave you feeling exhilarated and alive. Then make those ideas and subjects the stuff of your life.

In a distracted age, you must consciously choose to lift your attention toward ideas that fill you with wonder, rather than bland and chummy chatter. We’re all capable of unique expression. We can all marvel with wonder at the world. We can all choose to arrange ideas in endless combinations, but only if we learn to recognize our own infinite selves. Don’t forget to shuffle the deck.