Final answer:
The number of different three-letter initials that can be formed using the 26 letters of the English alphabet is 26^3, which equals 17,576.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks about the number of different three-letter initials that can be formed. To calculate this, we can use the principles of permutations. Since there are 26 letters in the English alphabet and each position in the initials can be any of those 26 letters, for each of the three positions we have 26 possibilities. Therefore, we use the formula for permutations without repetition:
Number of different initials = 26 × 26 × 26
This calculation gives us:
263 = 26 × 26 × 26 = 17,576
Hence, there can be 17,576 different three-letter initials people can have.