Endless Vs. Infinite

2006-5-2 00:36:00

Larry writes:

Mathematics does NOT hold that "one could subtract infinity from both sides" as in your argument.

That wasn't my argument. My math teachers often used the idea of infinity minus (or plus) one to make a point. The point was that you would still have infinity - in other words nothing would be changed.

If you think this is a wrong method of teaching then you need to correct the dialog of a lot of math teachers out there.

The real reason, when you think about it, that you can't subtract from infinity is that infinity does not exist. You can't subtract the real from the unreal.

Larry:

In mathematics infinity is NOT a number. It is the name for a concept (or principle) of "unboundedness" - the real numbers are not bounded by any final discrete number (there is no "end point").

That's one of the points I have been making. If infinity does not exist then it is not a number.

Larry:

In fact the concept of infinity does exist in mathematics and the real numbering system we use every day. It is simply not a number in that system. It is a concept or a principle (depending on how you define those terms).

This is also what I have been saying. I call infinity a mathematical theoretical concept - since it cannot be proven correct.

Larry:

Earlier you wrote "endless does not include the end point, infinity does." As I said earlier, the mathematical concept of infinity does not include an end point because it is precisely the concept that no end point can exist - just the opposite of what you said.

Not really.

One of the applications of infinity is to approach the midway point between two numbers. Between two and three, approaching from the two direction, we have 2 1/4, 2 1/8. 2 1/16 etc. Approaching from both directions in this sequence you can continue endlessly. The infinite point is 2.5. 2.5 or the midway point between anything does exist and is included in infinity.

Larry:

As far as I can tell so far your intended distinction between "endless" and "infinite" does not make sense.

Dean made some good points on this.

Endless is the progression toward a seemingly infinite point. The geometric progression I described is endless.

The infinite includes everything, including the infinite point, or in this case 2.5. An endless progression never reaches the point.

Within the worlds of time and space that which appears to be the infinite are really endless multiplications and divisions of form, but the form itself has a beginning and end. The idea of form, just like the idea of a number, has no beginning and end and this is why we as entities will have no end. We are ideas in the mind of God.

A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it: it would be hell on earth. George Bernard Shaw

Comment on the above quote:

I think there is a certain amount of truth in this. The people I know who act outwardly happy the highest percentage of the time are the manic depressives who also suffer severe depression.