Thread: ∞

That would still be infinity, because infinity is not a number and has no ending, so any operation results in itself.

But you said that division by infinity gave one, which is not itself.

And of course with subtraction, we have x-x which you could equally argue is 0.

That still doesn't explain why ∞*0 is not zero, or infinity.

Or what 0/∞ would be.

They are not numbers, that's why. They do not form a coherent structure with any meaning so they are removed. You could ask me what the scalar product of a sausage with two rashers of bacon is and I'd be just as unable to tell you. Note that 0 * infinity = 0 / 1 * 1 / 0 = 0 / 0 which has the additional answer of 1, so there is even more ambiguity.

It's far better just to say that you can't divide by 0, and that there is no number infinity.

It doesn't contradict a rule of math, because the rule for division is stated a/b where b is not 0.

You keep saying that infinity isn't a number-- Why?

I mean, i is a number. It's imaginary, and can only be expressed as a symbol, but it's still useful and has concepts and rules that apply to it.

Ewwww...

Yes, i is a number. And the technical mathematical name for the class of numbers it belongs to is 'imaginary'. But that is not an adjective. i is just as real as the other numbers; that is to say, i is not real at all. 10 does not exist, root 4 does not exist, minus 1 does not exist, and i does not exist.

Infinity is not a number because it is nowhere on any number line or space. It cannot be used to count things, and when treated like a number it makes maths wrong. Why should it be a number? It's a group of concepts. You might as well call God a number.

And where exactly would you place i on a number line?

Originally Posted by A Roxxor

And where exactly would you place i on a number line?

A positive i is above the number line, and a negative is below it. i is an additional dimension to the numberline, turning it into a plane.

The misinformation and confused assumptions in this thread have made me lose the little hope I had left in DV.

Originally Posted by ClassyElf

The misinformation and confused assumptions in this thread have made me lose the little hope I had left in DV.

All your ∞ are belong to us!

And where exactly would you place i on a number line?

i lies on the imaginary number line, one unit up.



A number with a Re and Im component is a 'complex' number and lies somewhere on the Argand/complex plane.

This is where fractals live, incedentally.

Infinity is not a number because it is nowhere on any number line or space. It cannot be used to count things, and when treated like a number it makes maths wrong.

I disagree, firstly look at transfinite numbers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transfinite_number

Secondly, you can do maths with infinity, look at Non standard analysis by Abraham Robinson.

Its just that certain numbers have different properties. Infinite has strange properties, espically concerning how big is infinity.

Not in most contexts. In preuniversity contexts like algebra, calculus, and sums of series, it is not a number, otherwise you get contradictions. Only when you get into very complicated things like analysis or the Riemann sphere can you treat it as such.

Originally Posted by Xei

i lies on the imaginary number line, one unit up.



A number with a Re and Im component is a 'complex' number and lies somewhere on the Argand/complex plane.

This is where fractals live, incedentally.

Right, and infinity makes this a shpere and serves as the unreachable origin on the other side.

Sort of, but it's more complicated. The plane is wrapped around the sphere in a special way. You could imagine it like this: stading on the plane, you define a number as how far you have to tilt your head to look directly at it. Infinity is then a finite number, 90 degrees, i.e. looking at the horizon, instead of an infinite number.

To be honest I know virtually nothing about the Riemann sphere though. Ask me in four years.

It would be a sphere, but you could never, ever get to the other side because it warps forever-- to infinity.

Something else that is interesting would be zooming in on a number line. You could do that forever.

Or a plane...

Have you seen the Mandelbrot set?

That's a pretty good representation of infinity, thinking about it.

Yea. Infinite detail.

infinity is just like a white expanse, nothing but white. so yeah...

Originally Posted by Neruo

Don't listen to these hippies, they are as credible as religious people when it comes to science.

'Infinity' is mostly a mathematical term. In every case, 'infinity' is just a human concept to decribe certain things. Such as the length you can follow the line of a circle without coming across a dead end. That doesn't make any supernatural power arise from the circle.

So it's just a word, again. A lot of questions come down to just realizing what the word signifies doesn't mean it exists in the way the word implies it does. The definition of 'infinity' that the 'really'-person uses is completely arbitrary.

If you really want to know, you should ask a mathematics professor and a physics professor. (Note that no or almost none of the current, university-related, philosophers really see anything special about the term 'infinity', but I am sure there were philosophers in the past that thought 'infinity' to be something special. Then again, philosophers in the past thought a lot of wrong things.)

But they also thought a lot of right things that where shunned until science proved them correct.

Originally Posted by DeathCell

But they also thought a lot of right things that where shunned until science proved them correct.

Name me one things that hippies said that was proven correct correct by science. Also, the particular hippies I am talking about certainly didn't attribute anything to science, I think even you can agree on that.

Also, for ever hippy that guessed right, I can give you a thousand, no thousands and thousands of, hippies who's insane imagination lead them to ideas that were complete bullshit, as you would expect from the average hippy.

Originally Posted by Xei

Ewwww...

Yes, i is a number. And the technical mathematical name for the class of numbers it belongs to is 'imaginary'. But that is not an adjective. i is just as real as the other numbers; that is to say, i is not real at all. 10 does not exist, root 4 does not exist, minus 1 does not exist, and i does not exist.

Infinity is not a number because it is nowhere on any number line or space. It cannot be used to count things, and when treated like a number it makes maths wrong. Why should it be a number? It's a group of concepts. You might as well call God a number.

Umm wouldn't infinity encompass the entire number line? Depending on Positive or Negative infinity.

Thus the concept of infinity.

Name me one things that hippies said that was proven correct correct by science. Also, the particular hippies I am talking about certainly didn't attribute anything to science, I think even you can agree on that.

Also, for ever hippy that guessed right, I can give you a thousand, no thousands and thousands of, hippies who's insane imagination lead them to ideas that were complete bullshit, as you would expect from the average hippy.

What a weird post.
-.-

I was just saying ideas and concepts can be true before science validates them. Have no specific examples of hippy figures for you... ^_^ Though some of those acid heads know some shit

EDIT: I worked all day on this during History class when we were supposed to be learning about something or other.

So don't spoil the intellectualness of the situation.

Spoiler for .:

∞ + 1 = 42

What is infinity plus one? 42. Hey, it works.

Umm wouldn't infinity encompass the entire number line? Depending on Positive or Negative infinity.

What do you mean, encompass the whole number line? Infinity is not any number, so it is not on the number line. For example, infinity is not 3, so infinity does not encompass the point where 3 lies; this argument applies for every number.

Originally Posted by Xei

What do you mean, encompass the whole number line? Infinity is not any number, so it is not on the number line. For example, infinity is not 3, so infinity does not encompass the point where 3 lies; this argument applies for every number.

You smoke rocks son? Infinity is every number. That's the point of infinity. So it would include 3 and everything beyond it... theirs Infinity and Negative Infinity...



No you can't equate infinity into one number only but you can make a number line representing infinity...

I don't smoke rocks, but I do have good mathematics qualifications.

Infinity is not every number and you'd have to smoking rocks to think it is. 3 is 3. -3 is -3. 0 is 0. Infinity is infinity. Of course, I have to emphasise again that infinity isn't a number in the first place.

Originally Posted by Xei

I don't smoke rocks, but I do have good mathematics qualifications.

Infinity is not every number and you'd have to smoking rocks to think it is. 3 is 3. -3 is -3. 0 is 0. Infinity is infinity. Of course, I have to emphasise again that infinity isn't a number in the first place.

And like I said, Infinity can be represented on a number line, it is all encompassing.. What don't you understand? Infinity isn't one number, it's all numbers.