Infinity in probability and statistics applications linked to “The Two Kings and the Two Labyrinths” by J. L. Borges

Abstract

The article examines Jorge Luis Borges’s short story “The Two Kings and the Two Labyrinths” through a philosophical, literary, and mathematical lens, focusing on the concept of infinity and its application to probability and statistics. The study’s objective is to show how Borges’s literature can serve as a pedagogical and epistemological tool to explore abstract notions of infinity, logic, and probability calculation. The methodology combines textual and interpretive analysis with an applied statistical approach, as the authors design a probability exercise inspired by the story, linking empirical frequency, event independence, and intersection within Kolmogorov’s axiomatic framework. The scope of the article goes beyond literary interpretation by integrating the humanities and the exact sciences, using Borges’s labyrinths as models of infinite structures. The authors conclude that the desert—understood as a natural labyrinth—embodies divine infinity, whereas the Babylonian maze symbolizes the imperfect infinity of human creation, offering a bridge between art, philosophy, and mathematics.