How to count infinity [video]
It’s approaching that special time of night reserved for insomniacs, second-shift workers and crazy people, which means it’s the perfect time to start contemplating the mysteries of the universe with a little help from MinutePhysics.
Today’s lesson? How to Count Infinity. Good luck explaining it tomorrow around the water cooler.
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That went by awfully fast, and I’m only on my first cuppa joe, but I think I heard that there are more real numbers between 0 and 1 than there are integers. If so, I disagree, because you can construct ever-larger integers to correspond to each real number. More generally…
The idea of one infinity being larger than another is a logical contradiction. To determine that one thing is larger than another, you must be able to measure it. To measure it, you must be able to determine its extent numerical bounds. Infinity is by definition boundless. It may have a starting point, but it has no endpoint. It therefore cannot be measured.
Clay Farris Naff
Science & Religion Writer
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/clay-naff