--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All of this is really impossible, in the…" description: "\"“All of this is really impossible, in the way that it is really impossible that monkeys should by chance type out a copy of Hamlet.”\" — Hilary Putnam" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f88/hilary-putnam-38564_impossible_all-of-this-is-really-impossible-in-the_2958310.jpg" --- # All of this is really impossible, in the way that it is… ![“All of this is really impossible, in the way that it is really impossible that monkeys should by chance type out a copy of Hamlet.” quote by Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f88/hilary-putnam-38564_impossible_all-of-this-is-really-impossible-in-the_2958310.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f88/hilary-putnam-38564_impossible_all-of-this-is-really-impossible-in-the_2958310.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f88/hilary-putnam-38564_impossible_all-of-this-is-really-impossible-in-the_2958310.jpg) > ““All of this is really impossible, in the way that it is really impossible that monkeys should by chance type out a copy of Hamlet.”” [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker finds it absurd that random monkeys could type a complete work like Hamlet. **In simple terms:** Monkeys typing Hamlet seems impossible. Key Takeaway Recognize the improbability of random success. Themes probability language creativity Mood analytical skeptical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - writing - AI text generation - creative processes - probability theory Key Concepts philosophy of language randomness Questions to Reflect On - What does this say about randomness and meaning? - Can machines emulate creative works? A Different Perspective Random processes can produce meaningful patterns over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ## Related quotes > [If something's not impossible, there must be a way of doing it,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-winton/if-something-s-not-impossible-there-must-be-a-way-of-doing-it/) [Nicholas Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-winton/) > [“History is funny that way. Things that seem far off and impossible have a way of turning out to be bearer and more possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/history-is-funny-that-way-things-that-seem-far-off-and-impossible/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [To believe a business impossible is the way to make it so. How many feasible projects have miscarried through despondency, and been strangled in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-collier/to-believe-a-business-impossible-is-the-way-to-make-it-so-how-many/) [Jeremy Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-collier/) > [“Tell me again about how it's impossible to do and how it can't be done, then get out of my way and watch me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-w-boyer/tell-me-again-about-how-it-s-impossible-to-do-and-how-it-can-t-be/) Mak W Boyer > [Don't be told something is impossible. There's always a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rodriguez/don-t-be-told-something-is-impossible-there-s-always-a-way/) [Robert Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rodriguez/) > [I work on the motto that if something's not impossible, there must be a way to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-winton/i-work-on-the-motto-that-if-something-s-not-impossible-there-must-be/) [Nicholas Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-winton/) > [It's really impossible to project ahead even six months in this business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/it-s-really-impossible-to-project-ahead-even-six-months-in-this/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) > [I found it was really impossible for me to write songs when I couldn't sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosanne-cash/i-found-it-was-really-impossible-for-me-to-write-songs-when-i-couldn/) [Rosanne Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosanne-cash/) > [It really is impossible not to like him. His success was his failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-danto/it-really-is-impossible-not-to-like-him-his-success-was-his-failure/) Arthur C. Danto > [It was really impossible to break through in Russia. We couldn't buy any balls. We really didn't have any courts, no rackets, nothing. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marat-safin/it-was-really-impossible-to-break-through-in-russia-we-couldn-t-buy/) [Marat Safin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marat-safin/) > [“so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/so-many-out-of-the-way-things-had-happened-lately-that-alice-had/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [For, you see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/for-you-see-so-many-out-of-the-way-things-had-happened-lately-that/) [Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/) > [It really is impossible, cause that woman has no room in her heart for someone like me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-really-is-impossible-cause-that-woman-has-no-room-in-her-heart-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) James Cross Giblin > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) ## More by Hilary Putnam > [Science is wonderful at destroying metaphysical answers, but incapable of providing substitute ones. Science takes away foundations without providing a replacement. Whether we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/science-is-wonderful-at-destroying-metaphysical-answers-but-incapable/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) > [Cut the pie any way you like, "meanings" just ain't in the head!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/cut-the-pie-any-way-you-like-meanings-just-ain-t-in-the-head/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) > [I can only please one person per day. Today isn't your day, tomorrow doesn't look good either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/i-can-only-please-one-person-per-day-today-isn-t-your-day-tomorrow/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) > [The physicist who states a law of nature with the aid of a mathematical formula is abstracting a real feature of a real material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/the-physicist-who-states-a-law-of-nature-with-the-aid-of-a/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) > [“Philosophy needs vision and argument… there is something disappointing about a philosophical work that contains arguments, however good, which are not inspired by some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/philosophy-needs-vision-and-argument-there-is-something-disappointing/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) > [... causes (pains) are not logical constructions out of their effects (behaviour).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/causes-pains-are-not-logical-constructions-out-of-their-effects/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) > [It was Rudolf Carnap's dream for the last three decades of his life to show that science proceeds by a formal syntactic method; today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/it-was-rudolf-carnap-s-dream-for-the-last-three-decades-of-his-life/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) > [...while there is such a thing as correctness in ethics, in interpretation, in mathematics, the way to understand that is not by trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/while-there-is-such-a-thing-as-correctness-in-ethics-in/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) > [No sane person should believe that something is subjective merely because it cannot be settled beyond controversy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/no-sane-person-should-believe-that-something-is-subjective-merely/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) > [I think part of the appeal of mathematical logic is that the formulas look mysterious - you write backward Es!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/i-think-part-of-the-appeal-of-mathematical-logic-is-that-the-formulas/) [Hilary Putnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) [Explore all 11 Hilary Putnam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/) ## More Impossible quotes > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) James Cross Giblin > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. It knows and it teaches that it is impossible to find two events that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/history-is-in-its-essentials-the-science-of-change-it-knows-and-it/) [Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've heard from the movie marketplace that James Cameron did such a killer job with 'Titanic' that it's almost impossible to do anything better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-ve-heard-from-the-movie-marketplace-that-james-cameron-did-such-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [Ronaldo is just an athlete. He works so hard and back to back; he is always there. But if you work hard, can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-davids/ronaldo-is-just-an-athlete-he-works-so-hard-and-back-to-back-he-is/) [Edgar Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-davids/) > [In such a diversity it was impossible I should be disposed to melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boone/in-such-a-diversity-it-was-impossible-i-should-be-disposed-to/) [Daniel Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boone/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [I just like stories about redemption about getting a second chance at life, I think everyone in the world has a few major mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-just-like-stories-about-redemption-about-getting-a-second-chance-at/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) Browse all 7,633 Impossible quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“All of this is really impossible, in the way that it is really impossible that monkeys should by chance type out a copy of Hamlet.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hilary Putnam" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/all-of-this-is-really-impossible-in-the-way-that-it-is-really/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Impossible" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/all-of-this-is-really-impossible-in-the-way-that-it-is-really/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f88/hilary-putnam-38564_impossible_all-of-this-is-really-impossible-in-the_2958310.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f88/hilary-putnam-38564_impossible_all-of-this-is-really-impossible-in-the_2958310.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f88/hilary-putnam-38564_impossible_all-of-this-is-really-impossible-in-the_2958310.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All of this is really impossible, in the way that it is really impossible that monkeys should by chance type…” — Hilary Putnam", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Hilary Putnam", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-putnam/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“All of this is really impossible,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/all-of-this-is-really-impossible-in-the-way-that-it-is-really/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-putnam/all-of-this-is-really-impossible-in-the-way-that-it-is-really/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```