Huh. That’s way less likely than I assumed!

I think I was getting confused by how frequent collisions are in a hash-table. But those aren’t actually hash collisions, they’re hash-table entry collisions. So it makes sense that the likelihood of collisions is orders of magnitude smaller than I was thinking - the number of entries in any given hash-table is unfathomably tiny compared to the number of possible permutations that a reasonably-sized hash can have.

The issue that I see is that DNA isn’t necessarily unique. For example, identical twins and species that were born asexually can have identical DNA. I don’t really know any biology, so maybe there are other considerations too?

Also, hash collisions would happen randomly sometimes, so even if every individual had unique DNA, you couldn’t use them as a unique identifier since there would sometimes be collisions.

Hope that helps.

Edit: I was wrong about hash collisions. Also, removed last paragraph because I was repeating myself.

I think there are fewer tech-savvy people in the world than people think. Most people are capable of using tech just enough to do what they’re trying to do, and don’t take the time to learn to use newer technology, preferring to stick with what they know.

On the other hand, people with a desire to keep up with new technology probably will.

Allowing Elon Musk to run a company is like electing a kid who thinks the government should give everyone free icecream and make crime ok on Thursdays.

Someone needs to find him a role where he can feel like he’s helping without getting in everyone else’s way.