Infinity does not exist in the real world.

[soon2bepro]

infinity is just a concept. we know of nothing that is infinite; i agree with the thread creator (how do you call that? OP? no idea what that stands for [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img])

(edit: oh, maybe Original Poster)

[thefisherman]

This correct on the quantum part. But more importantly, the point is infinity is a theoretical concept. Only that.

Infinite number of places you can stand? That would require an infinite amount of time to actually stand in all those places. Be "real world" here. Stand in all the places you want, but you can only stand in a finite amount. Plus, as mentioned before, the number is still finite due to the fact that quantum mechanics requires uncertainty in position, so the idea of position as a concept is flawed.

Secondly, I would say a sentence is something someone uses to communicate language. An infinite number of infinite length sentence, while in math, is possible, but not a "real world" example. Time prohibits it.

>>>>>>>>>>>>&g t;>>>>>>>>>>>&gt ;
The point is:
People seem to think of infinity as something that is real world. To those of you who differentiate real world and theoretical, congrats, that's the point. But I think it's astounding the number of people who believe infinity transcends that boundary. I'm just out to show that it does not. It is confined only to the mathematical/theoretical region.

[StinkWater]

there are an infinite number of dreams i could have tonight.

[Riddick]

Matter exists infinitely, since it cannot be destroyed.

Once you are dead, an infinite amount of time will pass before you come back to life.

[Smock8]

You seem to be arguing that infinity cannot be acted out in any way. However this does not mean that infinity deosnt exist, the example of an infinite number of possible sentances is a good one, yes there is an infinite number of sentances, no you cannot come up with a list of them because of the nature of infinity and the fact that we are assuming that we live in a finite time universe.

[Cyrus]

[ QUOTE ]
Here are some examples off the top of my head:
<font color="white"> . </font>
[1] The amount of different possible sentences is infinite.

[2] The number of spatial points in any extended volume is also infinite.

[3] God could create an infinitely large object.

[/ QUOTE ]

The OP specified that our subject is the real world.

Your example Nr 1 is incorrect. (It is a very large number but not infinity!) Your example Nr 2 belongs to the realm of Geometry, and specifically Euclidean Geometry. Again, not of the real world. While, of course, example Nr 3 is about fairy tales.

(I am using the term "real" in the conventional sense. I have difficulty defining reality, sorry.)

[Sephus]

[ QUOTE ]
This is not true as long as we assume that sentences can only be made from words. Since there are a finite number of words, it follows that there are a finite number of sentences, though that number would be very large.

[/ QUOTE ]

this reasoning is invalid for the reasons in the first response to it. the limit to the number of possible sentences comes from the limit to how much information can possibly be stored in our universe.

[Sephus]

[ QUOTE ]
yes there is an infinite number of sentances, no you cannot come up with a list of them because of the nature of infinity and the fact that we are assuming that we live in a finite time universe.

[/ QUOTE ]

no there's an infinite number of possible sentences only in theory. in the real world a sentence can only be so long as it's possible to store (or express) the information contained in the sentence using matter in the universe. at a certain point your sentence couldn't get any longer without requiring that no trace of the beginning of the sentence continued to exist.

[Sephus]

isn't there an infinite number of different points in space and time? just because we can't measure precisely enough doesn't mean they aren't infinite "in the real world" right? and just because we use theory like geometry to investigate things like space doesn't mean that the real world isn't being described, right?

[Roy Munson]

What is the "Real World"? I know that the TV show is infinitely unwatchable.