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You could pose the question the other way around: is the infinite hidden within the finite? This philosophical question is probably outside the realm of mathema
by BasDirks 14y ago
You could pose the question the other way around: is the infinite hidden within the finite? This philosophical question is probably outside the realm of mathematics, but an interesting thought-exercise.
- lutusp 14y ago> You could pose the question the other way around: is the infinite hidden within the finite? This philosophical question is probably outside the realm of mathematics ... There's a reason it's outside the domain of mathematics -- it contradicts the definition of infinite. By definition, an infinite set cannot be a subset of a finite one. > ... but an interesting thought-exercise. Briefly, but easily answered. :)
- BasDirks 14y agoI came to think of it after reading part of one of the answers in OP link: "So yes, it has the story of your life -- but it also has many false stories, many subtly wrong statements, and lots of gibberish." The "gibberish" is bound to contain many truths. This kind of encoding is very different from the mathematical idea of subsets. I am probably bending concepts beyond breaking point here, and you are correct.
- Evbn 14y agoBut look at at the plain meaning of the word: "infinite" is "in finite". More seriously, if you aren't careful in your interpretations, you observe that the real interval [0,1] has finite measure but infinite cardinality. And the rational interval has 0 measure but infinite cardinality, so you do find infinite in the finite.