51
That is a lot (feddit.org)
submitted 2 weeks ago by genfood@feddit.org to c/memes@lemmy.world
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[-] Digit@lemmy.wtf 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Here's a 75mb joke:

There were 2 sperm, swimming along.

One says to the other one:

"We've been swimming for ages. How long until the egg yet?"

The other replies:

"The egg!? Oh. It's not for miles yet. We've only just passed the tonsils."

Edit:

This calculation is off by an order of magnitude.

The human genome has about 3.1 billion base pairs. Each sperm has half of that. Ignoring epigenetics, each base pair has four options (A/T/C/G), so it can be represented by two bits each.

All told, that’s 3.1 gigabits = 388 megabytes per gamete.

Oh, in that case then, I guess that's a 776mb joke.

[-] Kolanaki@pawb.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

"Egg? We're inside a raccoon's anus."

[-] EvilFonzy@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago

That's why I always call it a packet storm. "Girl, I'm about to DDOS that booty."

[-] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago

So if I jerk off, I could use that to store porn, thus making me jerk off more, thus providing more porn storage…

[-] ekZepp@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago
[-] ooterness@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

This calculation is off by an order of magnitude.

The human genome has about 3.1 billion base pairs. Each sperm has half of that. Ignoring epigenetics, each base pair has four options (A/T/C/G), so it can be represented by two bits each.

All told, that's 3.1 gigabits = 388 megabytes per gamete.

[-] LSNLDN@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 weeks ago

Surely after some lossless compression this could be improved drastically

[-] ooterness@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

The data would compress well, true. However, the DNA in the cell doesn't have anything like data compression, and it makes the calculations more complex, so it's only fair to compare uncompressed sizes.

[-] dharmacurious@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

So what would the total amount of information in an average ejaculation be? Dumb it down for me, please? Lol

[-] io@piefed.blahaj.zone 0 points 2 weeks ago

am i dumb or shouldn't it be 2 times 3.1 billion bits, so 6.2 gigabits according to what you said

[-] ooterness@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The full genome is 3.1 billion base pairs (6.2 Gbit = 775 MByte). Each parent (i.e., one egg or one sperm) contributes half of that, 1.55 billion base pairs (3.1 Gbit = 388 MByte).

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

It's just a lot of copies of the same information. Not very efficient.

[-] Dadifer@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

The dna sequence of each sperm is actually unique, and are thus not considered part of your body according to your immune system. This is why your testes are "immune-privileged", meaning your white blood cells are not allowed in there.

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

So not just inefficient but also insecure? Who designed this crap?

[-] Dadifer@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

Sexual reproduction is designed for variation. You can reduce it with a large amount of inbreeding. Your family, for example.

jk

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

My mom, my dad, my aunt and my uncle are going to beat you up! The two of them are really strong!

[-] Dadifer@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago
[-] 30p87@feddit.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

Top Redundancy

[-] slothrop@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

They're just trying to get a point across.

[-] Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net 1 points 2 weeks ago

If you assume an average ejaculation distance of 9 inches and a nominal speed of 15 mph (this is apparently surprisingly well studied) - you get a data transfer rate of 46,500 TB/s.

I once joked I could jizz faster than my shitty internet connection. Guess I was right

[-] SonicBlue03@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

This is why a big...hard...drive is important.

[-] Formfiller@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago
[-] Digit@lemmy.wtf 1 points 2 weeks ago

I don't wanna think about where his sperm has been.

[-] faizalr@piefed.social 0 points 2 weeks ago

How do they calculate that?

[-] albbi@piefed.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

Each DNA base can be represented in 4 bits because there's only 4 values: A, T, G or C. (This is a simplification because of epigenetic base modifications, but works for now). So just take the length of DNA and multiply by 4 for the amount of bits the data represents. You do have to add up the lengths of all the chromosomes considering that sperm only have one copy of each chromosome, not two. Also factor in that there is no mitochondria in sperm. Lastly, about half of the sperm will be carrying an X and half will be carrying a Y chromosome so just take the length of the (X + Y) / 2 for the sex chromosome. Now just multiply by the amount of sperm in an average ejaculation and you'll get a good estimate.

[-] ooterness@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Each base-pair requires two bits, not four. Picking an arbitrary convention: 00 = A, 01 = T, 10 = G, 11 = C.

[-] kibiz0r@midwest.social 1 points 2 weeks ago

To represent 4 values, you only need 2 bits

  • 00
  • 01
  • 10
  • 11
this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2025
51 points (98.1% liked)

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