I had a manager once tell me during a casual conversation with complete sincerity that one day with advancements in compression algorithms we could get any file down to a single bit. I really didn't know what to say to that level of absurdity. I just nodded.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 hour ago

How to tell someone you don't know how compression algorithms work, without telling them directly.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

You can give me any file, and I can create a compression algorithm that reduces it to 1 bit. (*)

spoiler

(*) No guarantees about the size of the decompression algorithm or its efficacy on other files

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 59 minutes ago) (1 children)

It's an interesting question, though. How far CAN you compress? At some point you've extracted every information contained and increased the density to a maximum amount - but what is that density?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 hour ago

I think by the time we reach some future extreme of data density, it will be in a method of storage beyond our current understanding. It will be measured in coordinates or atoms or fractions of a dimension that we nullify.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago)

That's the kind of manager that also tells you that you just lack creativity and vision if you tell them that it's not possible. They also post regularly on LinkedIn

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 hours ago

u can have everthing in a single bit, if the decompressor includes the whole universe

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 hours ago

Send him your work: 1 (or 0 ofc)

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 hours ago

https://xkcd.com/1381/

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 hours ago

Just make a file system that maps each file name to 2 files. The 0 file and the 1 file.

Now with just a filename and 1 bit, you can have any file! The file is just 1 bit. It's the filesystems that needs more than that.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 hours ago

That’s precisely when you bet on it.