Yea, I get it. There are infinite possibilities... We tend to use the word in a rather abstract way. There has been some controversy for lack of a better word, on if the universe is infinite. It would have to be, wouldn't it?
This has all been thrashed to death before: http://www.sciforums.com/threads/can-infinity-ever-be-more-than-a-mathematical-abstraction.160948/ Check out my p1 #4 post for a link to what should be useful answers to your questions. Hopefully not leading to an 'infinite' looping thread.
lol I wasn't active on here much during that time, so missed it. But, I'll read it the link, thanks. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! How would you apply it?
You posted that you don't believe infinities exist ''outside of math,'' so how would you apply in a mathematical sense, when it's not a number?
I'm not the guy to talk about math (I know very little) Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I think it's just used to convey that the number series just goes on and on. Think about the infinity setting on a lens. It doesn't mean that our world is infinite. It just means that practically speaking once you set the focus at a certain distance it's good for anything past that.
A line consists of an infinite number of points. A circle is an infinite number of straight line segments.
assumptive quantitative reasoning is not always how you reach the solution. sometimes the solution is only observable because there is a discordant position to assumed common reason, be it scientific or laymans. like asking Schrodinger what colour the cat is and how that effects the end result. here are 2 concepts 1 the universe is infinite so we cant see if its infinite or not 2 the universe is finite and we cant yet see the end of it which one tells us how big it is ? p.s ... i like your question
Thank you both for the info. No one's answers here are similar. Hmm. Rainbow - I think it could be both - since we don't know with certainty if the universe is physically infinite.
It depends on which infinities you are referring to. There is a difference in saying there are an infinite number of points in a yardstick and saying that there is an infinite yardstick.
I guess. It's hard to conceptualize ''forever.'' I happen to think that the universe is likely finite, but only seems infinite to us. (But, just thinking out loud - if there are an infinite number of points on a yardstick, the yardstick would therefore be infinite, no?)
Again, it just depends on how you want to use the term or how you want to apply it. I don't think you will find anyone who will argue against its use to describe an infinite number of points along a yardstick although even then a quantum argument could be made. The infinities that I don't think exist are "large" distances. It's just a shorthand for large enough to not need to describe other than as infinite for a particular problem. Small distances may have a limit as well. To me this is just one of those "navel gazing" semantic philosophic arguments that aren't particularly useful if the concept is taken to its literal conclusion. It is possible, of course, that the Universe is infinite but I don't think so.
My question started as a math question, and then it morphed (I guess) into a philosophical discussion. I don't mind.
my thought is, we are incapable of finding the infinite size of the universe to define it as infinite. do we need to know how big something is before we can label it as bigger than something else ? how big is an ocean how big is the sea how big is my thought of things when i cease to be how big is a number when i lose count at thee
