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#1
01-20-2006, 08:39 PM
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Infinity does not exist in the real world.
Maybe this has been posted a million times, and flame me if it has, but does anyone disagree that infinity -- as a concept -- does not exist in the real world. Maybe in math, but not in the real world. It seems as if a number of questions here ask where the logical error is in something, and many times this is where it is.
Anyway, if someone thinks they have an example of a "real world" infinity, I will gladly explain why it doesn't exist. However, be warned, that most often infinity doesn't exist becaue whatever a person is talking about requires infinite time, which everyone should know, certainly is not true in our universe. 
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#3
01-20-2006, 08:48 PM
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Re: Infinity does not exist in the real world.
I am not sure what you mean by 'infinity the concept', but nonetheless here are some examples off the top of my head that I am curious what you have to say about.
The amount of different possible sentences is infinite. The number of spatial points in any extended volume is also infinite. God (if he exists) could create an infinitely large object.
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#5
01-20-2006, 09:02 PM
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Re: Infinity does not exist in the real world.
[ QUOTE ]
What's at the center of a black hole? [/ QUOTE ] Any mass with a gravitational pull such that the escape velocity is greater than the speed of light. A more important question is what is the point?
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#6
01-20-2006, 09:12 PM
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Re: Infinity does not exist in the real world.
existence is quite possibly infinite.
there are infinite solutions to some puzzles. sup bro has infinite wisdom.
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#7
01-20-2006, 09:37 PM
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Re: Infinity does not exist in the real world.
I dont see the problem with concepts occurring in the real world. Infinity is a concept and is contained within the non-physical part of the universe. After all, you cant point at a "lump" of unhappiness yet unhappiness clearly exists in the real world.
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#8
01-20-2006, 09:38 PM
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Re: Infinity does not exist in the real world.
[ QUOTE ]
The amount of different possible sentences is infinite. [/ 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 ] The number of spatial points in any extended volume is also infinite. [/ QUOTE ] I don't think that this is a good "real world example" but along the same lines is there are an infinite number of places to stand in a room, or an infinite number of positions that you can make with your hand. [ QUOTE ] God (if he exists) could create an infinitely large object. [/ QUOTE ] Like the universe?
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#9
01-20-2006, 10:11 PM
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Re: Infinity does not exist in the real world.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] God (if he exists) could create an infinitely large object. [/ QUOTE ] Like the universe? [/ QUOTE ] isnt the univrse finite?
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#10
01-20-2006, 10:19 PM
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Re: Infinity does not exist in the real world.
[ 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 ]No, this follows in essentially the same way that infinite numbers do: we can always add the word "very" or whatever to a sentence. Or, consider the language {0, 1} where words are composed of the Kleene closure {0, 1}*. I don't know what a "real world" example is supposed to mean, though. [ QUOTE ] I don't think that this is a good "real world example" but along the same lines is there are an infinite number of places to stand in a room, or an infinite number of positions that you can make with your hand. [/ QUOTE ]Presumably, this could be false. If quantum physics is true, then we should expect that the matter that occupies space is discrete.
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