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It is an interesting discussion you bring up but will take much more than a comment to talk about. There is a divide between mathematics and physics regarding n
by podocarp 8d ago
It is an interesting discussion you bring up but will take much more than a comment to talk about. There is a divide between mathematics and physics regarding numbers. Real numbers have supposedly infinite precision, and arbitrary size, which are not true in our physical universe. Indeed infinities have given physicists quite some headaches. It's a bit of a dark art as to where you can and cannot just use infinity willy nilly and many have expressed distaste to it. Also at some point you have to talk about computability, like are these infinite precision and magnitudes even real if nothing in the universe even gets close, what is omega to the omega, statements dream up by the utterly deranged?
I remember there being a talk or some article about this but can't find it anymore, but it is an interesting thing.
- GoblinSlayer 8d agoOnly infinite magnitude causes problems in physics, infinite precision doesn't. Real numbers have infinite number of digits only in digital model of numbers, so their infinite size is a modelling artifact. e=1 in base e - one digit.