Is Infinity Real?
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- Опубліковано 24 тра 2024
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Correction: At 4 mins 44 seconds, it should be the limit of x to +infinity, not x to 0. Sorry about that. And kudos to Evgeniy Smirnov and Alkis Papanastassiou for spotting this.
In this video I explain what properties infinity has, how to calculate with infinity, how infinity appears in physics and why that may be problematic.
#physics #science #mathematics
0:00 Intro
0:15 Properties of Infinity
3:29 Calculating with Infinity
5:46 Infinity is Unmeasurable
9:02 Infinity in Physics
11:01 Sponsor Message - Наука та технологія
I guess I'd call that an infinitely understandable clarification of infinities.
I think you will like this -> ua-cam.com/video/Uj3_KqkI9Zo/v-deo.html
So true 🤓
Teachers pet/ asss kisser
I come for the physics, but i stay for the dresses
Nice presentation, well beyond my math understanding. A question, maybe you can do a presentation on the coriolis effect. Does it affect the planets in orbit, how about star systems orbiting in galaxies? How about dimensions?
Aleph-null bottles of beer on the wall
Aleph-null bottles of beer
Take one down
Pass it around
Aleph-null bottles of beer on the wall
Great song for when that car trip takes forever.
@@frechjo Well it certainly beats "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? ....." :)
thats how you catch the covid
The first beer goes to Mr. Hilbert.
Nope, Aleph broke because of Zeta!
Me: *about to type "Technically, you would need a limit for those divisions to be true."*
Dr. Hossenfelder: "I hope there are no Mathematicians watching..."
Me: :)
to be fair there surely are some algebraic definitions where that would make sense haha
@@yyeeeyyyey8802 the thing you are looking for is called a wheel
I got a laugh at that too
Nonstandard analysis in my opinion is superior to Cauchy's limit idea. It allows you to do this arithmetic with the transfinite and infinitesimal.
@@shoopinc once you get the ball rolling with non standard analysis, it can be extremely intuitive, however, to make it rigorous requires a ton of heavy machinery to be developed. Whereas using the standard real numbers, a close to fully rigorous treatment can be done in first year.
"I hope there are no mathematicians watching this."
Theoretical physics in a nutshell ;P
Something, something...for support, not illumination.
Being a mathematician, I truly flinched in the moment she showed the equation. And I felt so much relieved when she gave the disclaimer for mathematicians. :-)
Remember the battle between physicists and mathematicians over the Dirac Delta Function?
I just started and I defenitly feel you.
"I hope there are no electrical engineers watching this."
Classical Physics in a nutshell...
I find it easiest to think of infinity as a process rather than a number. Its a process that discribes a neverending chain of numbers or events or whatever you wanna plug into it. This works with how some infitities are "larger" than others.
There's another infinity - Sabine's variety of cool clothes
The perfect gay comment...
Also, her nail polish matches her outfit. An even more perfect gay comment.
She's likely using a clothes rental biz. That seems like a smart move for anyone
@@DheerajBhaskar Ha-ha-ha, this happens when I think there´s nothing gayest than what we already had...
Well I opened a comment (see the last), just for gay comments.
But this dress does not look to be topologically impossible, unlike some others we have seen...
Great video. I recently noticed an example of infinity (or division by zero) arising in an everyday mathematical formula. When I am driving my car, the dashboard displays the current fuel efficiency that the car is getting in litres per 100 km. It shows it as a bar that gets longer or shorter as the car consumes more fuel or less fuel per unit distance. When I bring the car to a stop (to stop at a traffic light, for example), the bar becomes as long as the display will allow, and then suddenly disappears. This is just how the indicator handles the division by zero issue, since when your car is stopped but the engine is still running, it is consuming fuel but not travelling any distance, and therefore has a momentary fuel efficiency of "infinity" litres per 100 km.
That's one instance where "km per liter" would be a better metric, since it would just be "0" in that case.
I'd say its simply an invalid measure, it doesn't make sense to measure X to Y when Y doesn't exist.
@@daarom3472 it's not that simple, as pointed out above the inverse relation exists and is well defined therefore both relations must exist.
@@tinkeringtim7999 how much milk do you have if you have 0 liters of milk? How fast do you go when you go 0 km/hour? When the value reaches 0, the property stops existing other than that we can talk about it.
@@daarom3472 If you are using existence in a colloquial sense, please explain in what sense.
If you mean existence as in predicate logic, I can't see a way to express that consistently so perhaps write what you mean by that in a concrete unambiguous way.
I suspect you will struggle to, because the whole point is these things are incredibly difficult (maybe impossible) to pin down from the perspective of numbers. We've been trying to figure it out since Euler looked at the primes through sequences and polynomials.
If it's just simple and self evident in your view, then all you're telling me is you don't actually know what is going on when one litre of milk is "added" to another and the result shown to be consistent with our counting system.
In other words, if you think you know what numbers mean/do and you haven't studied number theory from the perspectives algebra/topology/analysis then you have only proved you can fool yourself.
I don't see how anyone who has studied even one of those perspectives to a significant degree of apprehension could've entertained such a facile thought for long enough to type it but I'm open to the idea it's possible.
No one else explains these concepts so clearly like you do
“Is it just something that we get when we divide something by zero”
Careful there, thats fighting talk.
If you've ever waited at the DMV here in the states, you know infinity is real.
Especially when you are trying to register your new infinity. Those infinities are different types though.
The fact that you can report on it means it wasn't infinite. It's over.
I swear I would've said similar, upon being a disabled person and waiting on the
g-d damned government to getting around the agree to the obvious while you're sitting in homeless shelter waiting on subsidized housing shoulder to shoulder with convicted murderers that are completely oblivious to the idea that upon finding out their names that you can check their criminal convictions on a damn smartphone. The DMV? Yeah. Even just renewing a state ID; time slows down and yet somehow you age faster!
When you get a number and they skip your number and you have to get a new number but they say you just didn't hear your number. No lady you all skipped like 10 numbers.
Not just in the States. Vehicle registration and driving licences work the same way in Australia too. And don't even start on social security.
I’m infinitely grateful for this video. Fin.
I have zero disagreements with this.
That really blows my mind away, what a masterpiece of didactics! Sabine is the absolutely best teacher, I've ever met. Read a whole book (by John Barrow) about this, but didn't understand half of what she explains in ten minutes. I'm so thankful for this
Thanks Sabine, you made me see the difference between mathematical reality and physical reality. 🙏🏻
People generally have a very poor understanding of what the word 'infinite' actually means.. This is not any kind of 'fault', but just that we have evolved within the confines of what appears to be a finite environment, and we thus try to look at things in finite ways, also justifying those 'finite' thoughts. When I first approached the 'problem' I had the same difficulties, so it takes our minds a lot of effort to reach another perspective of understanding, but it IS achievable..
Firstly, there cannot be more than one 'instance' of infinitude, otherwise a secondary 'thing' would render them both 'finite'. So we are describing a 'oneness'.. Also, it can have no 'beginning' nor 'ending' as these would also necessitate a secondary 'thing' (or the utter nonsense of a 'nothing'!), so we are describing 'eternity' when we apply 'time' concepts. Then, we have to admit that it can only be the one thing that interconnects all other 'things', and we deduce this to be 'Space', necessarily..
All references to 'size' or 'direction' do not apply to the nature of infinitude, and thus have no relevance to our understanding of the true nature of existence. 'Measurement' has limitations.. When we point to any position in Space, we effectively create a 'beginning' to any subsequent forms of measurement, which only has relevance to the entity desiring to understand said 'measurement'. Measuring things does not make them a main-feature of the nature of reality, only a desire of 'measurement' from a purely Human perspective.
Within infinitude everything appears to be at the 'centre' of that which it finds detectable ('observable').. So, the moment you create the perspective of a 'centre', you become that centre..Here we can find the real problem with using 'mathematics' as a tool for understanding infinite nature. We have to firstly posit the 'points' to be 'measured' in order for the measurement to take place.. And this is why we end up inventing 'things' that do not exist in reality from mathematical constructs that do not describe the truth about nature..
> the difference between mathematical reality and physical reality
That is between concepts and objects
@@alexleibovici4834 Perhaps we can consider that "objects" are really just "concepts" that we use to gather together various observations about "something" and talk about it....
@@YT8699
> Perhaps we can consider that "objects" are really just "concepts" that we use to gather together various observations
No. There are objects out there and the concepts are the representations in our brains of those objects out there.
@@alexleibovici4834 I am also a realist who believes in the existence of stuff out there. However, our entire knowledge or understanding of any particular "object" is contained within our "concept", and it appears that our attempts to form coherent concepts from our observations of objects almost always involves the use of "mathematical realities". If fact our attempts to "prove" (another loaded word...) that any particular object actually exists also depends upon the usage of these mathematical realities.
So when the distinction between "mathematical realities" and "physical realities" (or objects and concepts) is reduced to the notion that only "physical realities" exist....then we're faced with admitting that our knowledge of that which "exists" is dependent upon that which "does not exist".
Of course, some consistent naturalists identify "concepts" as nothing more than a particular set of chemical reactions among the organized elements of the human brain. Thus making concepts into objects...
As usual, I don't really understand, but my lack of understanding is less infinite than it was before. Thank You.
@Goran Vukovic Oh no, the aleph number of Grok Effer's lack of understanding decreased.
What Grok Effer said!
Well, if she/he took away 1, it may still be infinte, but less so. Because, 1 still was removed.
@@Aurinkohirvi nope
@Goran Vukovic but but but, was it the story of Socrates or Aristotle that he's the most smart person?
He heard people were saying he's the smartest person in the city. So he thought he'd go out to see if that's true. He went out and ask many smart people questions after questions. At first they answered the questions but then in end they ran out of answers. At the end of the day he had found out nobody really didn't know. But he already knew that that he didn't know. And everybody thinks they knew when they didn't know but he knew he didn't know. That means he said he is the most smart person in the city. Then was he wrong?
4:41 I think there’s a correction necessary. Shouldn’t x tend to infinity? Something like this:
lim
x → ∞
I noticed that too, thanks for pointing it out!
Yes, lim x → ∞ makes sense and Sabine says ∞ at 4:42.
Yes, sorry. I have put a note on this in the information below the video. Thanks for being so observant!
@@SabineHossenfelder limit_{x -> \infty} x^2/e^x: the limit OF ex squared over ee to the ex squared AS ex approaches infinity
The limit as written is still equal to 0).
3:10: "I hope there are no mathematicians watching this"
Me: Too late muahahaha
I love your videos because you explain things and I immediately have questions but then, like you're reading my mind, the question gets answered.
Thank you for a useful discussion of infinity. I have been tangled up in this for a while, and this clear summary of the mathematical and scientific interpretations was just what I needed to get past my current block! I am really enjoying your channel.
@4:42: There is a mistake in the formulat. Under the limit the formula should have x->∞, not x->0.
One of the most valuable educative and well-made videos in the whole UA-cam and maybe to infinity and beyond... 👌
What great topic ! Thanks Sabine. The standard cosmological model includes a spatially infinite universe, and it seems to attract little attention how strange indeed it would be! I've only found an obscure paper by Ellis. Thanks also for mentioning others in physics are concerned by this or related issues. It's a shame you didn't mention Hilbert's Hotel. That really drove the point home for me and carries the weight of a great mathematician.
I did economics at uni, no infinity there, everything is scarce!
Hyperinflation on the other hand... :P
lol
I'm a Democrat and a Socialist. We don't let the laws of economics get in the way of progress and doing what's right for the common good of society. I'm just sayin'
@@GregoryTheGr8ster - the "common good" - used to excuse infinite human suffering throughout the ages.
@@GregoryTheGr8ster A Democrat and a Socialist? Sorry Greg, they're mutually exclusive
A typo. At 4:44 there should be lim_{x->+inf}, not lim_{x->0}
You are right, of course. Sorry about that.
The physicist would say infinity is roughly zero anyways
It doesn't matter! It is zero any way.
@@SabineHossenfelder You might want to make this go to the top so everyone sees it.
Thanks Sabine, you give very clear explanations.
Really concise summation of the gap between mathematics and phenomenology. You cannot measure infinity because its value will always be greater by at least one unit than what you have measured.
Thank you Sabine, i’m gonna sound like a broken record but all,you vids are great and much appreciated. 😍
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. Keeps me going :)
@@SabineHossenfelder Hello Sabine , From All your knowledge and intelligent, What are you Stand for Atheism or God's follower.... ????????
Well, this went south quickly..
@@bmoneybby well it sure did 😂
@@Honestandtruth From her scientific presentations, and body language. She is likely agnostic.
The videos on this channel consistently progress from stuff I know comfortably to stuff I *don't* know, usually at about the 75% mark. It's a rare and wonderful thing. Thank you.
Serendipity. I was just thinking, a month or two ago, that mathematicians should not be using infinity because it's not real, it's not understandable, and makes for possible misunderstandings in the calculations. Now I see this. Did the universe give me you because it thought I was ready? I have not studied maths or physics, but I think about these things. I thought I was really smart. You guys have already worked all this out. Well, I'm glad to have found you, at last. Too late, but I can die in some peace!! Thanks again! 🙂
Her first “examples” definitely raised my eyebrows but when she hit her groove the
examples turned out to be “bait” for the grand finale. Her completely approachable explanation of the epistemological difference between physics and mathematics is just brilliant. Entire college courses don’t do any better.
Ok, I stopped watching and I as was about to call bullshit and leave, now I have to watch that part.
Unfortunately not. More bullshit. Physics with infinity are just mathematical abstractions to try to approximate the observable. There are theories to state even time in not infinite divisible. At this time, there is no concluding evidence that infinite is real. It sure exists in math, in our minds, but not in the observable universe.
@@miguelandrade5964
Actually ?
Do NOT exist, in math !
Must use them, to express them !
Each, is an "infinite Limit" !
X^Infiity = Infinity
1/X as X aproaches infinity,
aproached 00 !
00 +/- Any/Every possible number,
is NOT 00 !
IF can add any number to Infinity:
then previous number
IS NOT Infinity !
@@miguelandrade5964
Our minds,
can understand the concept of always.
Our minds, can not understand
what is an Infinite amount.
(One of definitions, of infinity)
@@dirktween244 In math (and in our minds), for something to exist all it needs is to be defined. If you like math a little, you maybe want to search some stuff from Cantor. It's fascinating and a bit funny.
Thank you for adding much clarity to this topic!
thanks fore the educative video sabine
Respect and greetings from Holland 🙏
Brilliant exposition, Sabine. 👌
I really enjoy your videos.. you explain models and theory's in a way I can follow..your videos give me food for thought..thank you Sabine.
I am at the end of my physics bachelor (actually I'm doing QFT now, so that was a fun shout out), and there was a lot of new stuff for me in this video. I'm surprised by the amount of material you managed to get in her, because I would think it is also possible to grasp most of what you say with much less of a mathematical background. You inspire me as an educator!
Just wondering, since some physicists want to practice physics without using infinities, would this mean that Pi and e would no longer be usable?
@@daarom3472 No, because pi and e are not infinite in magnitude. Pi is less than 4 but more than 3, that's not infinite. It just has infinite digits in it's decimal representation
So do other numbers depending on how you represent them by the way. 1/3 is 0.33333... on and on forever when represented in it's base 10 decimal form for example. Pi just doesn't have a nice pattern like that, it's irrational
Great vid.
A MUCH more detailed version of what I just recently told my son about the topic.
u know ure a genius when u explain highly complex subjects without animation, just speech without any flashy video editing and effects. ure a genius and i love ur videos u are a scientist and a writer sabine
Thanks Sabine, that was immeasurably informative.
Can you next time talk about complex numbers and it's physical meaning, please..
Thanks for the suggestion, I will keep this in mind!
Personally, i see complex numbers as 2 dimensional numbers, so they are useful to describe or model things that need 2 dimensions instead of one.
@@SeanPeckham-xe2gt Yes this also reminds me that I used to call complex numbers "circular numbers", I don't know where this "complex" or "imaginary" comes from but this is really sad. A bit like Pi which should have been 2Pi (the ratio circumference/radius instead of circumference/diameter), That's what the Tau Initiative is about. If you replace Pi by Tau in equations, everything becomes way more intuitive. With Tau, the Euler's identity is even more interesting because instead of tracing a half circle and landing on -1 you make a full circle and come back to 1... tauday.com/tau-manifesto#sec-euler_s_identity
Unfortunately I didn't get a proper education in maths so I'm in the process of relearning the base concepts such as the one you described: turn concepts into a physical representation involving the senses (visual, kinesthetic, etc...) and develop an intuitive "feel" instead of applying rules and hoping for the best... This is the kind of thing that you either develop by chance when you are a child and then you become "good at math" or that you don't and then, since school doesn't teach you how to conceptualize and create mental models, you become stuck with the wrong/impractical models in your brain until you decide to take the mater into your own hands... With that in mind I'd be interested if you could share your mental model of the natural logarithm or exponentiation!
@@2072 a proper education in maths
ok nigel
Very good discussion of that may be seen here: ua-cam.com/video/T647CGsuOVU/v-deo.html
(Disclaimer, I have no association with Welch Labs, the producer of the video.)
Why is it that Ms. Hossenfelder is the only UA-camr that forms her words so perfectly that I never miss one? The slight German accent doesn't hurt, it may even help. Subscribed!
It's because they speak like they learned from the book. No slang, no dialect.
My first spanish teacher was German. She almost never talked german to us, but we understood everything. Years later, when I wasn't a beginner any more I had a teacher from Bolivia. We just didn't understand a word, so he tried to explain in German. We still didn't understand anything.
Thanks for clarifying the distinction between the existence of infinity in the mathematical and scientific sense! It helped me understand the concept of "infinity" better.
Your voice is very enjoyable!
Great video. Thank you.
From my point of view I can understand reticence to ditch convenient tools for the sake of some that are unable to make the distinction between the tool and reality.
Totally agree with this. When I was an undergraduate physics student, I always felt that assumptions were being made whenever I saw a limit as a variable tended to infinity or 0 - fine as an approximation, but it shouldn't be taken as a final model.
There are always assumptions and there is no such thing as a final model
"In science, we can always replace infinity with a very large number, we don't do this, but we could." -- We do it all the time in numerical simulations, by replacing the infinite dt's in any integral with a large number of delta t's.
I recently learned some of the Haskell programming language... it is a language deeply concerned with repeating processes and "types"... the idea that Infinity is a 'type' and not a value just makes so much sense to me right now. Thankyou for the awesome video :)
People generally have a very poor understanding of what the word 'infinite' actually means.. This is not any kind of 'fault', but just that we have evolved within the confines of what appears to be a finite environment, and we thus try to look at things in finite ways, also justifying those 'finite' thoughts. When I first approached the 'problem' I had the same difficulties, so it takes our minds a lot of effort to reach another perspective of understanding, but it IS achievable..
Firstly, there cannot be more than one 'instance' of infinitude, otherwise a secondary 'thing' would render them both 'finite'. So we are describing a 'oneness'.. Also, it can have no 'beginning' nor 'ending' as these would also necessitate a secondary 'thing' (or the utter nonsense of a 'nothing'!), so we are describing 'eternity' when we apply 'time' concepts. Then, we have to admit that it can only be the one thing that interconnects all other 'things', and we deduce this to be 'Space', necessarily..
All references to 'size' or 'direction' do not apply to the nature of infinitude, and thus have no relevance to our understanding of the true nature of existence. 'Measurement' has limitations.. When we point to any position in Space, we effectively create a 'beginning' to any subsequent forms of measurement, which only has relevance to the entity desiring to understand said 'measurement'. Measuring things does not make them a main-feature of the nature of reality, only a desire of 'measurement' from a purely Human perspective.
Within infinitude everything appears to be at the 'centre' of that which it finds detectable ('observable').. So, the moment you create the perspective of a 'centre', you become that centre..Here we can find the real problem with using 'mathematics' as a tool for understanding infinite nature. We have to firstly posit the 'points' to be 'measured' in order for the measurement to take place.. And this is why we end up inventing 'things' that do not exist in reality from mathematical constructs that do not describe the truth about nature..
It would take me an infinite amount of time to fully grasp your explanations, but I am finitely better informed by each of them. Thank you!
People generally have a very poor understanding of what the word 'infinite' actually means.. This is not any kind of 'fault', but just that we have evolved within the confines of what appears to be a finite environment, and we thus try to look at things in finite ways, also justifying those 'finite' thoughts. When I first approached the 'problem' I had the same difficulties, so it takes our minds a lot of effort to reach another perspective of understanding, but it IS achievable..
Firstly, there cannot be more than one 'instance' of infinitude, otherwise a secondary 'thing' would render them both 'finite'. So we are describing a 'oneness'.. Also, it can have no 'beginning' nor 'ending' as these would also necessitate a secondary 'thing' (or the utter nonsense of a 'nothing'!), so we are describing 'eternity' when we apply 'time' concepts. Then, we have to admit that it can only be the one thing that interconnects all other 'things', and we deduce this to be 'Space', necessarily..
All references to 'size' or 'direction' do not apply to the nature of infinitude, and thus have no relevance to our understanding of the true nature of existence. 'Measurement' has limitations.. When we point to any position in Space, we effectively create a 'beginning' to any subsequent forms of measurement, which only has relevance to the entity desiring to understand said 'measurement'. Measuring things does not make them a main-feature of the nature of reality, only a desire of 'measurement' from a purely Human perspective.
Within infinitude everything appears to be at the 'centre' of that which it finds detectable ('observable').. So, the moment you create the perspective of a 'centre', you become that centre..Here we can find the real problem with using 'mathematics' as a tool for understanding infinite nature. We have to firstly posit the 'points' to be 'measured' in order for the measurement to take place.. And this is why we end up inventing 'things' that do not exist in reality from mathematical constructs that do not describe the truth about nature..
@@fluentpiffle I was using those metaphorically.
Sabine, you are a great lecturer !!!! Five Stars.
I binge watch your videos because I love your demeanor. You are so cool!
I am mathematician and I enjoyed watching this video. In optimization we consider extended valued functions and make up such rules for playing with the infinite.
Glad I didn't commit any major blunder! It's been a while since my math classes.
Just take your right frame.
Infinity is a Platonic or mathematical concept!
Platonic forms are dual to to particulates -- Plato.
Universals (Noumenal, A priori) are dual to finite localized forms (Phenomenal, A posteriori) -- Immanuel Kant.
Space & time are both noumenal objects or objects of the mind "A priori" -- Immanuel Kant, The critique of pure reason. Space is dual to time -- Einstein.
Synthetic a priori knowledge == space/time -- Immanuel Kant.
Concepts are dual to percepts -- the mind duality of Immanuel Kant.
Absolute time (Galileo) is dual to relative time (Einstein) -- Time duality.
The future is dual to the past, we remember the past and predict the future -- Time duality.
My absolute time is your relative time and your absolute time is my relative time -- Time duality.
Length, distance or space is defined by two dual points -- space duality.
Absolute space is dual to relative space -- space duality.
Up is dual to down, left is dual to right, in is dual to out (x,y,z) -- space duality.
Space duality is dual to time duality.
"Always two there are" -- Yoda.
@TheAbstraction The big bang is a Janus point (two faces) = duality!
The future is dual to the past -- time duality.
Syntropy (prediction) is dual to increasing entropy -- the 4th law of thermodynamics!
Apples fall to the ground because they are conserving duality.
Potential energy is dual to kinetic energy.
The force of gravity is scientific or empirical proof of duality!
People generally have a very poor understanding of what the word 'infinite' actually means.. This is not any kind of 'fault', but just that we have evolved within the confines of what appears to be a finite environment, and we thus try to look at things in finite ways, also justifying those 'finite' thoughts. When I first approached the 'problem' I had the same difficulties, so it takes our minds a lot of effort to reach another perspective of understanding, but it IS achievable..
Firstly, there cannot be more than one 'instance' of infinitude, otherwise a secondary 'thing' would render them both 'finite'. So we are describing a 'oneness'.. Also, it can have no 'beginning' nor 'ending' as these would also necessitate a secondary 'thing' (or the utter nonsense of a 'nothing'!), so we are describing 'eternity' when we apply 'time' concepts. Then, we have to admit that it can only be the one thing that interconnects all other 'things', and we deduce this to be 'Space', necessarily..
All references to 'size' or 'direction' do not apply to the nature of infinitude, and thus have no relevance to our understanding of the true nature of existence. 'Measurement' has limitations.. When we point to any position in Space, we effectively create a 'beginning' to any subsequent forms of measurement, which only has relevance to the entity desiring to understand said 'measurement'. Measuring things does not make them a main-feature of the nature of reality, only a desire of 'measurement' from a purely Human perspective.
Within infinitude everything appears to be at the 'centre' of that which it finds detectable ('observable').. So, the moment you create the perspective of a 'centre', you become that centre..Here we can find the real problem with using 'mathematics' as a tool for understanding infinite nature. We have to firstly posit the 'points' to be 'measured' in order for the measurement to take place.. And this is why we end up inventing 'things' that do not exist in reality from mathematical constructs that do not describe the truth about nature..
'Math' is another finite aspect, and so has limited usage. It helps us to describe specific positions and calculate certain desirable measurements to ourselves, so that we may use finite reference points, but it breaks down at the level of describing a necessarily infinite reality. Thus, as it is with our 'senses', we need various different kinds of understanding, all working in tandem with each other to produce the 'bigger picture', and we have philosophy and psychology, arts and 'mysticism'/intuition, among others, evolved for this task. However, because we live in an 'expert' driven society, all the 'senses/methods' are at war with each other, jostling for control, when the only true understanding occurs if we emulate nature itself, and work from a foundation of wholeness..
"Commendation from NASA for research work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Earth's atmosphere and the Moon's surface for navigation of the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon..
Dr. Milo Wolff has found the structure of the electron consisting of two spherical quantum waves, one moving radially outward and another moving radially inward. The center of the waves is the nominal location of the electron 'particle'. These waves extend infinitely, like charge force. All 'particle' waves mix and contribute to each other, thus all matter of the universe is interrelated by this intimate connection between the fundamental 'particles' and the universe. The natural laws are a direct consequence of this Wave Structure of Matter (WSM), thus WSM underlies all of science."
spaceandmotion
Thank you. Great description ...
This is helpful & interesting. I'm going to watch it again. I watched Are We Made of Math? What type infinity is in the speed of light or the EMF? I have an abstract art, metaphysics use of infinity in the speed of light. I like this talk & this topic. Everyone can find a place in infinity. You have a pleasant speaking voice Sabine.
😊
People generally have a very poor understanding of what the word 'infinite' actually means.. This is not any kind of 'fault', but just that we have evolved within the confines of what appears to be a finite environment, and we thus try to look at things in finite ways, also justifying those 'finite' thoughts. When I first approached the 'problem' I had the same difficulties, so it takes our minds a lot of effort to reach another perspective of understanding, but it IS achievable..
Firstly, there cannot be more than one 'instance' of infinitude, otherwise a secondary 'thing' would render them both 'finite'. So we are describing a 'oneness'.. Also, it can have no 'beginning' nor 'ending' as these would also necessitate a secondary 'thing' (or the utter nonsense of a 'nothing'!), so we are describing 'eternity' when we apply 'time' concepts. Then, we have to admit that it can only be the one thing that interconnects all other 'things', and we deduce this to be 'Space', necessarily..
All references to 'size' or 'direction' do not apply to the nature of infinitude, and thus have no relevance to our understanding of the true nature of existence. 'Measurement' has limitations.. When we point to any position in Space, we effectively create a 'beginning' to any subsequent forms of measurement, which only has relevance to the entity desiring to understand said 'measurement'. Measuring things does not make them a main-feature of the nature of reality, only a desire of 'measurement' from a purely Human perspective.
Within infinitude everything appears to be at the 'centre' of that which it finds detectable ('observable').. So, the moment you create the perspective of a 'centre', you become that centre..Here we can find the real problem with using 'mathematics' as a tool for understanding infinite nature. We have to firstly posit the 'points' to be 'measured' in order for the measurement to take place.. And this is why we end up inventing 'things' that do not exist in reality from mathematical constructs that do not describe the truth about nature..
'Math' is another finite aspect, and so has limited usage. It helps us to describe specific positions and calculate certain desirable measurements to ourselves, so that we may use finite reference points, but it breaks down at the level of describing a necessarily infinite reality. Thus, as it is with our 'senses', we need various different kinds of understanding, all working in tandem with each other to produce the 'bigger picture', and we have philosophy and psychology, arts and 'mysticism'/intuition, among others, evolved for this task. However, because we live in an 'expert' driven society, all the 'senses/methods' are at war with each other, jostling for control, when the only true understanding occurs if we emulate nature itself, and work from a foundation of wholeness..
"Commendation from NASA for research work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Earth's atmosphere and the Moon's surface for navigation of the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon..
Dr. Milo Wolff has found the structure of the electron consisting of two spherical quantum waves, one moving radially outward and another moving radially inward. The center of the waves is the nominal location of the electron 'particle'. These waves extend infinitely, like charge force. All 'particle' waves mix and contribute to each other, thus all matter of the universe is interrelated by this intimate connection between the fundamental 'particles' and the universe. The natural laws are a direct consequence of this Wave Structure of Matter (WSM), thus WSM underlies all of science."
spaceandmotion
The moving dot reminds me the first time i read the "writing speed" spec of a CRT oscilloscope (70's). It was way above the speed of light. I had to double check my math before i realized i had not discovered something earth shattering. It took a little while i calmed down internally.
Awesome video, thank you Sabine. I just report a little typo at 4:41 with the limit.
Thanks, you are right. Sorry for the blunder!
How could you pay attention to that and notice it, while Sabine was on the screen?
Nonsense. It was completely correct. Sabine was leaving it as an exercise to the viewer to determine what the limit would be if x tended to infinity!
Pure magnificent pedagogy!
No no no. It is right in both senses! Zero or infinite. Sabine never mistakes! LoL
Great video! I always nitpick whenever people talk about black holes and singularities and their infinite densities; I just could never believe in Infinities in nature. I submitted a question about this to some subreddit, and someone wisely replied to me that they agreed that the densities of the singularities at the hearts of black holes were not infinite... they were just COLOSSAL.
Yes e.g. while reading Hawking I've been thinking the same thing, & he never seems to mention the issue. This is the first time I've seen it mentioned at all (much like the bogus characterizations of fusion achievements).
But she didn't say they don't exist in nature. She said they don't exist in science.
@@purpleglitter9596
.
"Do not exist in science" means [omit 3/11: "not known to exist", ie.] "not known to exist in nature".
.
Imo, strictly speaking, infinity doesn't exist in math either.
@@red-baitingswine8816 Science is not nature. Its an attempt to explain nature. But nature is nature. Otherwise why would she need to specify that it doesn't exist in science if she meant nature. Infinity does exist in math. Mathematics is pattern identification. Infinity is a pattern. If it didn't exist in mathematics they wouldn't have to keep finding ways to avoid it.
@@purpleglitter9596
.
Straw man I didn't say science is nature.
.
(but please see my revision of my previous comment)
6:09 'Scientifically, we can only say that an element of a theory exists if it is necessary to describe observation'. I like that idea
Machian myopia.
@@alfredttarski4521 Maybe. Or Occam's Razor
@@beatricechauvel8237 Which of its almost infinite number of versions?
The different types of infinities had always confused me. Thank you for the great explanation!
People generally have a very poor understanding of what the word 'infinite' actually means.. This is not any kind of 'fault', but just that we have evolved within the confines of what appears to be a finite environment, and we thus try to look at things in finite ways, also justifying those 'finite' thoughts. When I first approached the 'problem' I had the same difficulties, so it takes our minds a lot of effort to reach another perspective of understanding, but it IS achievable..
Firstly, there cannot be more than one 'instance' of infinitude, otherwise a secondary 'thing' would render them both 'finite'. So we are describing a 'oneness'.. Also, it can have no 'beginning' nor 'ending' as these would also necessitate a secondary 'thing' (or the utter nonsense of a 'nothing'!), so we are describing 'eternity' when we apply 'time' concepts. Then, we have to admit that it can only be the one thing that interconnects all other 'things', and we deduce this to be 'Space', necessarily..
All references to 'size' or 'direction' do not apply to the nature of infinitude, and thus have no relevance to our understanding of the true nature of existence. 'Measurement' has limitations.. When we point to any position in Space, we effectively create a 'beginning' to any subsequent forms of measurement, which only has relevance to the entity desiring to understand said 'measurement'. Measuring things does not make them a main-feature of the nature of reality, only a desire of 'measurement' from a purely Human perspective.
Within infinitude everything appears to be at the 'centre' of that which it finds detectable ('observable').. So, the moment you create the perspective of a 'centre', you become that centre..Here we can find the real problem with using 'mathematics' as a tool for understanding infinite nature. We have to firstly posit the 'points' to be 'measured' in order for the measurement to take place.. And this is why we end up inventing 'things' that do not exist in reality from mathematical constructs that do not describe the truth about nature..
'Math' is another finite aspect, and so has limited usage. It helps us to describe specific positions and calculate certain desirable measurements to ourselves, so that we may use finite reference points, but it breaks down at the level of describing a necessarily infinite reality. Thus, as it is with our 'senses', we need various different kinds of understanding, all working in tandem with each other to produce the 'bigger picture', and we have philosophy and psychology, arts and 'mysticism'/intuition, among others, evolved for this task. However, because we live in an 'expert' driven society, all the 'senses/methods' are at war with each other, jostling for control, when the only true understanding occurs if we emulate nature itself, and work from a foundation of wholeness..
"Commendation from NASA for research work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Earth's atmosphere and the Moon's surface for navigation of the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon..
Dr. Milo Wolff has found the structure of the electron consisting of two spherical quantum waves, one moving radially outward and another moving radially inward. The center of the waves is the nominal location of the electron 'particle'. These waves extend infinitely, like charge force. All 'particle' waves mix and contribute to each other, thus all matter of the universe is interrelated by this intimate connection between the fundamental 'particles' and the universe. The natural laws are a direct consequence of this Wave Structure of Matter (WSM), thus WSM underlies all of science."
spaceandmotion
At 4:50 it should be the lim as x goes to infinity. This was a nice explanation of dealing with infinity
Noticed that too.
People generally have a very poor understanding of what the word 'infinite' actually means.. This is not any kind of 'fault', but just that we have evolved within the confines of what appears to be a finite environment, and we thus try to look at things in finite ways, also justifying those 'finite' thoughts. When I first approached the 'problem' I had the same difficulties, so it takes our minds a lot of effort to reach another perspective of understanding, but it IS achievable..
Firstly, there cannot be more than one 'instance' of infinitude, otherwise a secondary 'thing' would render them both 'finite'. So we are describing a 'oneness'.. Also, it can have no 'beginning' nor 'ending' as these would also necessitate a secondary 'thing' (or the utter nonsense of a 'nothing'!), so we are describing 'eternity' when we apply 'time' concepts. Then, we have to admit that it can only be the one thing that interconnects all other 'things', and we deduce this to be 'Space', necessarily..
All references to 'size' or 'direction' do not apply to the nature of infinitude, and thus have no relevance to our understanding of the true nature of existence. 'Measurement' has limitations.. When we point to any position in Space, we effectively create a 'beginning' to any subsequent forms of measurement, which only has relevance to the entity desiring to understand said 'measurement'. Measuring things does not make them a main-feature of the nature of reality, only a desire of 'measurement' from a purely Human perspective.
Within infinitude everything appears to be at the 'centre' of that which it finds detectable ('observable').. So, the moment you create the perspective of a 'centre', you become that centre..Here we can find the real problem with using 'mathematics' as a tool for understanding infinite nature. We have to firstly posit the 'points' to be 'measured' in order for the measurement to take place.. And this is why we end up inventing 'things' that do not exist in reality from mathematical constructs that do not describe the truth about nature..
'Math' is another finite aspect, and so has limited usage. It helps us to describe specific positions and calculate certain desirable measurements to ourselves, so that we may use finite reference points, but it breaks down at the level of describing a necessarily infinite reality. Thus, as it is with our 'senses', we need various different kinds of understanding, all working in tandem with each other to produce the 'bigger picture', and we have philosophy and psychology, arts and 'mysticism'/intuition, among others, evolved for this task. However, because we live in an 'expert' driven society, all the 'senses/methods' are at war with each other, jostling for control, when the only true understanding occurs if we emulate nature itself, and work from a foundation of wholeness..
"Commendation from NASA for research work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Earth's atmosphere and the Moon's surface for navigation of the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon..
Dr. Milo Wolff has found the structure of the electron consisting of two spherical quantum waves, one moving radially outward and another moving radially inward. The center of the waves is the nominal location of the electron 'particle'. These waves extend infinitely, like charge force. All 'particle' waves mix and contribute to each other, thus all matter of the universe is interrelated by this intimate connection between the fundamental 'particles' and the universe. The natural laws are a direct consequence of this Wave Structure of Matter (WSM), thus WSM underlies all of science."
spaceandmotion
The ideas of infinity and an end came into my head when I was 8 years old and lying in my bed going to sleep. In the form of trying to imagine it in space, not in the form of mathematical equations. It was so unimaginable that I finally started crying. It just blew my mind. So here I am over 50 years later thinking maybe I will be able to get 2 hours sleep and this pops- up. Great.
Had a similar experience. I ended up puking because it was just overwhelming.
@@mathfincoding It really is. How anyone can accept ' the soup' as an ultimate answer to origins is beyond me. Or that mathematical equations are equivalent to comprehending eternity, an end, or nothingness.
I have a question about the beam of light reflected by the wall. When the wall is far far away, as the light source turns to one side, the distance the beam of light needs to travel in order to reach the wall increases very fast and so does the time it takes to reach the wall. Wouldn't the light point on the wall then always move to the side at a speed below the speed of light?
0:04 Instantly upsets all the mathematicians.
I'm an engineer, so I don't mind XD
Yep, we do this all the time, no big deal 😂
@Shadman Shahriar: You should talk to Sheldon Cooper (Tv series "The Big Bang" NBC if I'm not mistaken).
Infinity is untestable and unobservable ergo its not scientific.
@@theobolt250 Sheldon despites experimental physicists, so i wouldn't start a debate with him xD
I'll gladly take that infinity, divide 3V by it, call the result -90dBm and point thermal camera at a colleague who just entered the room.
Ah a new Sabine video, just what I needed. THANK YOU!
Thank you for your videos, Sabine. I would like to hear your opinion of the mass equation of special relativity. I assume that the singularity at the speed of light indicates that the Special Theory of Relativity is incomplete in the same way that the singularity at the centre of a black hole indicates that the General Theory is incomplete. What does the Standard Model of particle physics have to say about this?
Wow. So refreshing listen to a scientist which dares to say what needs to be said. Carry on, people like you are your weight worth in gold. Sincerely respect Klaus
The laser dot explanation blew my cats tiny mind 😻💥 Thank you
Yes, but in that explanation we forgot the finite speed of light, so it can't move infinitely fast.
For that in reality infinity in the real world is not infinite. 😁
How she blitzed in the ad was definitely infinitely German. 😂 God, I love her videos. Please don't ever stop. 😊
Fascinating stuff Sabine! The conclusion I come to is that no matter how large the magnitude of a number that we can compute, there must logically always remain an infinity of numbers of greater magnitude which are un-computable. The set of un-computable numbers is necessarily infinitely larger than the set of computable numbers.
Further to this - A perfect circle is infinitely round, however no examples of perfect circles exist in the universe. One of the roundest object available - a neutron star is close but not perfectly round. Perfect circles only exist in the human imagination. So computing numbers with idealized functions such as pi and infinity does not reflect the universe as it actually is.
Infinities in mathematics are defined by unbounded sequences and mappings using induction, thus any mathematics that relies on infinities also implicitly relies on those sequences and mappings. This applies to transcendental numbers and numbers with infinite precision as well. When I consider a transcendental number like "pi", I think about how it's like a sort of placeholder for a process that produces it, similar to how the square-root of '-1' is a placeholder in complex analysis. When we think about all numbers as placeholders in this way -- even the integers -- we start to move away from numbers as the final results of computations and move towards functions and operators as the final results. How numbers are defined and the relationships between these definitions is more important than the numbers themselves.
I appreciate your commitment to the proper use of mathematics in physics. Can you make a video, about some examples of improper use of mathematics in mainstream science?
Sabine explains difficult concepts with such ease :)
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" - A.E.
@@v3le Einstein never said it btw
@@vikraal6974 from the memes
It must be R.F.!
I too love, Dr. Sabine, though I counter some of her videos (the flaw is always on assumptions).
I hope there'll be a debunking between nuclear physicist Thunderfoot (is that the same as particle physicist?) and theoretical physicist Dr. Sabine, not coz' of dislike but because the exchange between minds who are experts in their fields, is an inspiration and a great example for everybody.
God bless, Revelation 21:4
Thanks!
Infinity we work with is not something static, it is a dynamic entity that realizes sort of principle. Countable infinity is based on a principle that for any number x there is a bigger number x+1. This principle is observable for any finite number we deal with in physics, in that case, infinity is real in physics, but as a potential one. Infinities are unmeasurable by any physical attempts because we try to measure them with physical quantities, but they are measurable only by other infinities -- other dynamic entities based on other principles.
To sum up, infinities are metaphysical, but have their realizations in physics
Ein sehr interessantes Video über ein sehr interessantes Thema 😀! Es ist wichtig, dass wir uns im Klaren sind, was wir mit dem Zeichen „∞” eigentlich meinen, wie es in diesem Video auch gesagt worden ist. Wenn wir damit ein unendliches Element u in einem nichtarchimedischen angeordneten Körper wie demjenigen der rationalen Funktionen über IR oder IQ meinen, dann kann man mit diesem Element wie mit jeder anderen Zahl rechnen. Insbesondere gilt u+1=1+u>u, u*2=2*u>u, und 1/u>0. Das ist z.B. der Fall, wenn man die rationalen Funktionen alphabetisch so angeordnet hat, dass nichtkonstante Polynome größer als alle konstanten Polynome (d.h. alle Elemente des zu Grunde liegenden angeordneten Körpers, was stets alle natürlichen Zahlen einschließt) sind, und u etwa das Monom T ist. Der hypothetische Kehrwert der 0 wäre dann immer noch größer als alle Elemente des nichtarchimedischen Körpers.
Besonders interessant ist der angeordete Körper der Surrealzahlen, da dieser der größte aller angeordneten Körper ist und alle Ordinalzahlen beinhalten. Damit sind wir bei den Ordinalzahlen (Ordnungszahlen) und dem Unterschied zwischen diesen und den Kardinalzahlen (Mächtigkeitszahlen). Wenn mit „∞” eine unendliche Kardinalzahl K (wie etwa aleph0) gemeint ist, dann gelten die Gleichungen K+1=K+1=K und K*2=2*K=K. Wenn mit „∞” jedoch eine unendliche Ordinalzahl O gemeint ist, dann gilt 1+O = O < O+1 und, falls O eine Grenzzahl wie omega0 ist, 2*O=O
Allerdings gibt es den Unterschied zwischen Mathematik und Physik. Konzeptuell existiert "unendlich" natürlich, angewandt auf die Physik ist aber die Frage, ob zB der Abstand zwischen zwei Teilchen beliebig klein oder beliebig gross werden kann. Und das ist keine mathematische Fragestellung sondern eine physikalische, die letztlich nur ein Experiment beantworten kann.
Analog ist es ja zB einfach, sich vorzustellen mit 10-facher Lichtgeschwindigkeit zu reisen, selbst wenn das in der Realität evtl. nicht möglich ist.
Daher sind Mathematik und Physik auch nicht dasselbe und jedes mathematische Konzept muss mit Vorsicht betrachtet werden, wenn man es in der Physik anwendet. Sonst ist man schnell "Lost in math".
@@Kah7654 Es stimmt natürlich, dass Physik und Mathematik nicht dasselbe sind. Wenn es aber in der physikalischen Welt nichts unendliches gäbe, könnten wir auch unsere Gehirne nicht dazu einsetzen, über die Unendlichkeit und das Unendliche nachzudenken, nicht wahr? Diese Fähigkeit müssten wir dann ganz unseren Seelen zuschreiben. Nun geht die Seele freilich über das Gehirn hinaus, aber ich glaube wirklich nicht, dass beim Denken über das Unendliche das Gehirn nicht beteiligt ist, und ich glaube, dass man diese meine Meinung auch versuchlich nachprüfen kann. Könnte also diese Diskussion da sein, wenn es in der physischen Welt nichts Unendliches gäbe?
I Always waiting for your new ones ..
Paul Dirac also had similar thoughts about infinities in physics representing problem areas with theoretical models.
Hi Sabine, love your content. I do have a question that I've had for a while. If infinity is just short-hand for the idea that we can always count higher, ie. add 1, then why is infinity being treated and calculated as though it were a number in the math and physics communities? For example, saying that you have a set of infinite numbers seems meaningless because you can't close the set, and if you can't close the set then you don't have a set. Trying to get around this by saying that a set of infinite numbers contains "all possible numbers" seems fallacious because no matter what number you decide to close the set with, 1 can always be added. Am I misunderstanding something in this?
Using infinities as numbers in calculations is really just shorthand for calculations with limits. It's not the usual algebra with numbers, but a different algebra that just makes it more convienent to work with 'infinities' without having to unravel the calculations every time you make them.
As for the existence of a infinite set, it really is up to you in a way. There is no inherent answer. Really mathematicians invoke the axiom infinity, which just assumes that an infinite set exists. But really you could quite far without the axiom of infinity, as Sabrine said, you can always imagine a large enough number. Similarly in mathematics it would be fine to talk about an infinite collection of numbers even if you didn't approve that it was a set.
People generally have a very poor understanding of what the word 'infinite' actually means.. This is not any kind of 'fault', but just that we have evolved within the confines of what appears to be a finite environment, and we thus try to look at things in finite ways, also justifying those 'finite' thoughts. When I first approached the 'problem' I had the same difficulties, so it takes our minds a lot of effort to reach another perspective of understanding, but it IS achievable..
Firstly, there cannot be more than one 'instance' of infinitude, otherwise a secondary 'thing' would render them both 'finite'. So we are describing a 'oneness'.. Also, it can have no 'beginning' nor 'ending' as these would also necessitate a secondary 'thing' (or the utter nonsense of a 'nothing'!), so we are describing 'eternity' when we apply 'time' concepts. Then, we have to admit that it can only be the one thing that interconnects all other 'things', and we deduce this to be 'Space', necessarily..
All references to 'size' or 'direction' do not apply to the nature of infinitude, and thus have no relevance to our understanding of the true nature of existence. 'Measurement' has limitations.. When we point to any position in Space, we effectively create a 'beginning' to any subsequent forms of measurement, which only has relevance to the entity desiring to understand said 'measurement'. Measuring things does not make them a main-feature of the nature of reality, only a desire of 'measurement' from a purely Human perspective.
Within infinitude everything appears to be at the 'centre' of that which it finds detectable ('observable').. So, the moment you create the perspective of a 'centre', you become that centre..Here we can find the real problem with using 'mathematics' as a tool for understanding infinite nature. We have to firstly posit the 'points' to be 'measured' in order for the measurement to take place.. And this is why we end up inventing 'things' that do not exist in reality from mathematical constructs that do not describe the truth about nature..
'Math' is another finite aspect, and so has limited usage. It helps us to describe specific positions and calculate certain desirable measurements to ourselves, so that we may use finite reference points, but it breaks down at the level of describing a necessarily infinite reality. Thus, as it is with our 'senses', we need various different kinds of understanding, all working in tandem with each other to produce the 'bigger picture', and we have philosophy and psychology, arts and 'mysticism'/intuition, among others, evolved for this task. However, because we live in an 'expert' driven society, all the 'senses/methods' are at war with each other, jostling for control, when the only true understanding occurs if we emulate nature itself, and work from a foundation of wholeness..
"Commendation from NASA for research work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Earth's atmosphere and the Moon's surface for navigation of the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon..
Dr. Milo Wolff has found the structure of the electron consisting of two spherical quantum waves, one moving radially outward and another moving radially inward. The center of the waves is the nominal location of the electron 'particle'. These waves extend infinitely, like charge force. All 'particle' waves mix and contribute to each other, thus all matter of the universe is interrelated by this intimate connection between the fundamental 'particles' and the universe. The natural laws are a direct consequence of this Wave Structure of Matter (WSM), thus WSM underlies all of science."
spaceandmotion
I love how whenever there is a conversation about an expression of 0 becoming solution everyone freaks out because they think somewhere in the world they’ve just given a mathematician a aneurysm lol
I did cringe a little
Excellent Programme
infinity is like a shorthand for "as big as you want".
Like saying something equals infinity is just saying that it keeps going, like you'll never run out no matter what you do, unless you use the infinity to destroy the infinity.
And putting infinity inside an expression is like saying you're interested in what happens as you keep going, and if things ever stop happening, or if they all would hypothetically cancel out.
so saying infinity+1=infinity for example is just saying something like, "if I will never run out of apples, and you give me an apple, I will never run out of apples" or "if I started counting my apples I would not be able to finish (this is not the same as uncountable infinity), and if you gave me another one, I still wouldn't be able to finish counting them"
2*infinity = infinity is like "I'm never gonna run out of apples, and you're never gonna run out of apples, and if you gave me your apples I would still never run out of apples"
infinity^2/2^infinity = 0 means like if my friends start cloning themselves, and I buy square grid of apples each time all my friends (including their clones, and their clones' clones, etc.) have had a turn in the cloning machine with a side length equal to the number of times they've been cloned, and split them between everyone, as time goes on each person will get less and less, and in fact if you pick a really tiny (positive) number, at some point each friend/clone will get less than that amount
ok that actually probably made it sound more complicated than it is, so dropping the apple analogy, if you start squaring really big numbers, and raising 2 to the same really big numbers, the numbers in the second group will be many times bigger, and in fact, with a big enough number, bigger by an amount bigger than any (finite) amount you want.
the last bit of that is sort of the crucial part. Because things that approach 0.0001 or a gazillion without going any smaller/bigger respectively exist, which are in many ways similar to being 0 or infinity, but are crucially distinct. Like you can count a gazillion apples, and see that it is distinct from having a gazillion and one apples.
The interval (-∞, ∞) is homemorphic with the the open interval (0,1) , i.e there is a continuous bijection with a continuous inverse function that sends one of them to the other one supported by the usual metric topology and its inherited one on the interval (0,1).
Howevers we can't find such a function between the Real line and the compact interval [0,1] and this opens the gate to the idea of the set [-∞,∞] with infenity numbers included and this set is compact and thus homeomorphic to [0, 1] . Similar discussion can be made concerning the complex field C wich can have an extension homeomorphic to the disc D= {z , |z|≤1} .
Chuck Norris counted to infinity, twice.
He didn’t though, did he?
He also started the sun.
@@markthebldr6834 And he‘s also going to stop and finish the 🌞.
3:10 Thanks for this. The math side of my brain was getting a bit squeamish a few seconds earlier.
Professor, i thank you so much!
Sabine, I love your talk. Post-science, which I founded, believes that we live in the infinite future because our universe has an infinite future.
I was going crazy before she mentioned the technicality at 3:16 ...😅 Thanks . Great video 👏
I waited soooooo hard for a Video which has infinty as topic in this "direction" thank you Mrs Hossenfelder great inspiration.🙏
Hey, buddy, you call her DOCTOR Hossenfelder!
(see: "hey lady you call him DOCTOR Jones +Temple of Doom" to see humor)
A very nice presentation. It reminds of my first calculus class given by a Bell Labs instructor at a remote University of Hawaii location. His introduction paraphased: .." the most difficult concepts to grasp are the terms infinity and infinitesimal. His explanation of infinity was similar to yours. His explanation of iinfinitesimal, was; you can describe you walking towards a point, dividing the distance in half continually. The infinitesimal is that moment you cross that point." Probably, as you explained zero and may be has a real meaning in the universe. It's amazing how infinity applies to mathematics, but not anything real in the universe. Or perhaps the universe is infinite, but I even find that difficult to believe. If it's an everlasting expanding and contracting universe, I contend the universe is finite of particles/energy. If it's infinte in particles/energy, who knows what to think. In either case, we will only be able to explain those two terms mathematically. Thanks so much for the details in your presentation.
I absolutely trust what you tell me. I can’t think of any other channel that I do that for
"There are infinitely many types of infinity" - Terrific. Are there countably infinitely many types or are there even more infinitely many types of infinity?
look at wikipedia: Cardinal number, large Cardinal number, huge Cardinal number, List of large cardinal properties
Other infinity concept is : Surreal number also kown as Convay numbers.
an other concept is: Hyperreal number.
Adding one point to a space to make the space kompakt is called Alexandroff extension .Example for Alexandroff extension is adding infinity to the the complex numbers equals a sphere.
All thess can be done in Settheory called ZFC, ZFC is defined by using FOL (first order Language). Every Theory in FOL has a countable Model. Looking from outside we have only countable many set, but looking from inside we see uncountable sets. This is not a contradiction, because the map which makes a set countable is not a Member of the Model.
According to the continuum hypothesis, the answer is either yes or no.
infinte types of infinity
People generally have a very poor understanding of what the word 'infinite' actually means.. This is not any kind of 'fault', but just that we have evolved within the confines of what appears to be a finite environment, and we thus try to look at things in finite ways, also justifying those 'finite' thoughts. When I first approached the 'problem' I had the same difficulties, so it takes our minds a lot of effort to reach another perspective of understanding, but it IS achievable..
Firstly, there cannot be more than one 'instance' of infinitude, otherwise a secondary 'thing' would render them both 'finite'. So we are describing a 'oneness'.. Also, it can have no 'beginning' nor 'ending' as these would also necessitate a secondary 'thing' (or the utter nonsense of a 'nothing'!), so we are describing 'eternity' when we apply 'time' concepts. Then, we have to admit that it can only be the one thing that interconnects all other 'things', and we deduce this to be 'Space', necessarily..
All references to 'size' or 'direction' do not apply to the nature of infinitude, and thus have no relevance to our understanding of the true nature of existence. 'Measurement' has limitations.. When we point to any position in Space, we effectively create a 'beginning' to any subsequent forms of measurement, which only has relevance to the entity desiring to understand said 'measurement'. Measuring things does not make them a main-feature of the nature of reality, only a desire of 'measurement' from a purely Human perspective.
Within infinitude everything appears to be at the 'centre' of that which it finds detectable ('observable').. So, the moment you create the perspective of a 'centre', you become that centre..Here we can find the real problem with using 'mathematics' as a tool for understanding infinite nature. We have to firstly posit the 'points' to be 'measured' in order for the measurement to take place.. And this is why we end up inventing 'things' that do not exist in reality from mathematical constructs that do not describe the truth about nature..
'Math' is another finite aspect, and so has limited usage. It helps us to describe specific positions and calculate certain desirable measurements to ourselves, so that we may use finite reference points, but it breaks down at the level of describing a necessarily infinite reality. Thus, as it is with our 'senses', we need various different kinds of understanding, all working in tandem with each other to produce the 'bigger picture', and we have philosophy and psychology, arts and 'mysticism'/intuition, among others, evolved for this task. However, because we live in an 'expert' driven society, all the 'senses/methods' are at war with each other, jostling for control, when the only true understanding occurs if we emulate nature itself, and work from a foundation of wholeness..
"Commendation from NASA for research work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Earth's atmosphere and the Moon's surface for navigation of the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon..
Dr. Milo Wolff has found the structure of the electron consisting of two spherical quantum waves, one moving radially outward and another moving radially inward. The center of the waves is the nominal location of the electron 'particle'. These waves extend infinitely, like charge force. All 'particle' waves mix and contribute to each other, thus all matter of the universe is interrelated by this intimate connection between the fundamental 'particles' and the universe. The natural laws are a direct consequence of this Wave Structure of Matter (WSM), thus WSM underlies all of science."
spaceandmotion
I've often thought that renomalization, while it works, means that physicists don't understand how quantum mechanics works at all
Infinity is a Platonic or mathematical concept!
Platonic forms are dual to to particulates -- Plato.
Universals (Noumenal, A priori) are dual to finite localized forms (Phenomenal, A posteriori) -- Immanuel Kant.
Space & time are both noumenal objects or objects of the mind "A priori" -- Immanuel Kant, The critique of pure reason. Space is dual to time -- Einstein.
Synthetic a priori knowledge == space/time -- Immanuel Kant.
Concepts are dual to percepts -- the mind duality of Immanuel Kant.
Absolute time (Galileo) is dual to relative time (Einstein) -- Time duality.
The future is dual to the past, we remember the past and predict the future -- Time duality.
My absolute time is your relative time and your absolute time is my relative time -- Time duality.
Length, distance or space is defined by two dual points -- space duality.
Absolute space is dual to relative space -- space duality.
Up is dual to down, left is dual to right, in is dual to out (x,y,z) -- space duality.
Space duality is dual to time duality.
"Always two there are" -- Yoda.
But at least they admit they don't. However, for now: it works.
I love how she accurately sais "same type of infinity" rather than "same infinity". I've had quite some discussions bogging down with people who failed to make this distinction.
I actually understood this one - thanks!
I hope you do a video on normalization of infinities in physics as a followup.
In my student days, some 50 years ago, we learnt that mathematical constructs could be equally proven with or without the assumption of infinity. Has this now moved on?
Do you mean some form of mathematical finitism?
Go get some Kurt Gödel from your library, mathematics itself is either unprovable or incomplete.
@@onecowstampede9140 or is not the right frame.
Wow, was that statement ever standard?
Infinity is a Platonic or mathematical concept!
Platonic forms are dual to to particulates -- Plato.
Universals (Noumenal, A priori) are dual to finite localized forms (Phenomenal, A posteriori) -- Immanuel Kant.
Space & time are both noumenal objects or objects of the mind "A priori" -- Immanuel Kant, The critique of pure reason. Space is dual to time -- Einstein.
Synthetic a priori knowledge == space/time -- Immanuel Kant.
Concepts are dual to percepts -- the mind duality of Immanuel Kant.
Absolute time (Galileo) is dual to relative time (Einstein) -- Time duality.
The future is dual to the past, we remember the past and predict the future -- Time duality.
My absolute time is your relative time and your absolute time is my relative time -- Time duality.
Length, distance or space is defined by two dual points -- space duality.
Absolute space is dual to relative space -- space duality.
Up is dual to down, left is dual to right, in is dual to out (x,y,z) -- space duality.
Space duality is dual to time duality.
"Always two there are" -- Yoda.
Infinity and zero bring in infinite assumptions into an equation. It's a delicate topic with science to point directly to the fact that we're making assumptions about things we don't really know other than it acts like this or that. But that's science right?
My favorite quote, paraphrasing, in this clip is: mathematicians understand Infinity very well, you just have to be very careful to know where your Infinity comes from".
Mysterious paradoxes. Infinity is everywhere as we calculate it out as practically as we can. Quanta certainly points to some lack of basic understandings.
I particularly enjoy Sabina's tone like: look this is how it is. The beauty is that if you approach her explaining the math by not calculating out each equation but seeing how the equations go together it's easier to grasp larger concepts. She consicely points out how the math is derived. The math isn't gobblygook though. It's godlygood as translated in touchscreen slide keyboard and philosophically, to notice much deeper how everything/Infinity is.
Okay sometimes it's like a refreshing stroll she pulls it off so well.
I loved Physicist - I started working in an R&D Lab rich in Physicist ( no shortage of pomp and bombastic behaviour ) - being an engineer I was always looked down on except when they needed to make experiments work ( math computing EE and ME - or get reminded of Laws of Thermodynamics ). They always had a convenient "upper hand" and infinity and math was it. It's not to say that they had an advantage as most of their math was understandable to me. After successful experiments and picking of my brain how I made the experiment work - they would always have a explanation on a limit of what I did. There was never a thank you. They were great at calling my math and experimental work ; "just part of my training". When I gain a PhD in Math - I become their worst nightmare. In essence I become invisible ... after I reminded them about how Math preceded Physics by 100 or more years. That Math is source of Physics plagiarism ground and that sport of naming effects after Physicist after appropriating math tools was a mode of operation. My best collaboration was with a Physicist - the rest did not approve. It was/is much like "Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy" ; by Douglas Adams - and the invention of Infinite Improbability drive. I enjoyed this "Is Infinity Real? ", keep up the good work //Nick😀
Wait, we do know Chuck Norris counted to infinity. Twice.
While doing so he discovered
- the last digit of Pi.
- that e is periodic.
- a numerical value for i .
In other words, in the realm of measurable, "arbitrarily large" is not the same as "infinite". Fair enough.
Also true in philosophy: potential infinities vs actual infinities.
In math we can say that up to roughly the 20th century we were only dealing with potential infinities, while later we got tools to deal with actual infinities (set theory etc).
Infinity also is a strange thing in logic like omega inconsistent theories and also the Skolem's paradox.
In particular, the different sizes of infinities is a finicky thing: the relation between the size of sets heavily depends on the axiomatic theory you consider. Personally, it makes me think that infinite sets are not a thing that actually have properties like a size, but some abstract construct to which we assign a concept of size that depends on the theory. The relation between these sets actually tell more about the expressive power of the theory than about the sets themselves.
And just a last thing to really insist that in mathematics infinity isn't an obvious thing, in the ZF set theory, the existence of infinite set is an axiom. If we remove ot from the theory we can't prove they exist 🙃
In most practical areas, "infinity" is "take some arbitrarily large number" followed by "define this number as infinite". This also includes floating point math on computers, where, say, with 'double' the 'infinite' value is essentially 2^1024 (with some special case handling to make the math identities hold; zero is another such special case, otherwise it would have been 2^-1023).
@@BGBTech The IEEE/IEC floating-point formats do allow for denormalized values, signed zero, etc. However, there is a fundamental difference between asymptotic (limit) values and true infinitesimal type. A problem with a brief presentation like this one is that a lot of important information gets omitted, leaving the audience with misconceptions. For example, about five years ago the Numberphile UA-cam channel posted a couple of "astounding results" that resulted from not explaining precisely the importance of absolute convergence, and hence produced such errors as the claim that the sum of all natural numbers equals -1/12. The "controversy" caused by that has continued ever since (and I suggest it not be allowed to infect this channel).
@@douggwyn9656 As can be noted, they exist, and are handled specially by the hardware, but exist as definitions and special-case rules applied to the largest and smallest exponents, as opposed to some entirely different type of entity.
@HenryDavidT Yep. Can also note that "in practice" says little about either theory or physical reality, but rather "things done in the name of making it work". I have also seen enough code with things like:
# define INT_INFINITY 1999999999
presumably because it is easier to type than 2147483647 or similar...
Meanwhile, Windows Calculator seems to be able to go up to 10^9999 for whatever reason (this is outside the range of the usual IEEE formats), ...
My most perplexing confrontation with the problem of infinity within physics was when I first became aware of the absence of perfect time. We take time measurements for granted and we have many ingenious ways of utilizing converging and diverging natural and artificial cycles in order to purvey a sense of predictable recurrence. The Greenich Clock is generally held as the most precise 24 hour yardstick for our cycles of global rotation, and of course, it is necessarily inaccurate, since it is simply a mechanical system superimposed upon natural movements. I am a drummer/percussionist and when I was a novice, I wanted to achieve tempo 'perfection', Lol!!
Of course the more rapid pulses one can place within a given measure, the more precise the tempo will be; If you play only quarters, or 4 beats per measure, there is still space for some flux and tempo inaccuracy, but if you divide the same measure into more pulses, say 16ths or 32nd notes, resulting in extremely rapid pulses, the tempo will be much more exacting. So, in order to achieve 'perfect' time, one is faced with the very impossible problem of dividing the measure infinitely. So having discovered this, I had no choice but to abandon the problem of perfect time and discover the musicality and beautiful flux of polyrhythm. I believe that this is a barrier which physics must also come to terms with when working with the idea of infinity. That perhaps the clarity of the interval, when multiple cycles of various lengths and scales briefly converge before separating again for another 'eon' of time, is actually a kind of "infinity cipher" that physicists may benefit from, rather than the familiar space/time model. Maybe I am totally out to lunch and they have already been using this in advanced physics, regarding the 'standing wave' frequency pulse phenomenon as an expression of infinite time...
People generally have a very poor understanding of what the word 'infinite' actually means.. This is not any kind of 'fault', but just that we have evolved within the confines of what appears to be a finite environment, and we thus try to look at things in finite ways, also justifying those 'finite' thoughts. When I first approached the 'problem' I had the same difficulties, so it takes our minds a lot of effort to reach another perspective of understanding, but it IS achievable..
Firstly, there cannot be more than one 'instance' of infinitude, otherwise a secondary 'thing' would render them both 'finite'. So we are describing a 'oneness'.. Also, it can have no 'beginning' nor 'ending' as these would also necessitate a secondary 'thing' (or the utter nonsense of a 'nothing'!), so we are describing 'eternity' when we apply 'time' concepts. Then, we have to admit that it can only be the one thing that interconnects all other 'things', and we deduce this to be 'Space', necessarily..
So, in terms of 'numbers', infinitude can only ever be 'one'..
All references to 'size' or 'direction' do not apply to the nature of infinitude, and thus have no relevance to our understanding of the true nature of existence. 'Measurement' has limitations.. When we point to any position in Space, we effectively create a 'beginning' to any subsequent forms of measurement, which only has relevance to the entity desiring to understand said 'measurement'. Measuring things does not make them a main-feature of the nature of reality, only a desire of 'measurement' from a purely Human perspective.
'Math' is another finite aspect, and so has limited usage. It helps us to describe specific positions and calculate certain desirable measurements to ourselves, so that we may use finite reference points, but it breaks down at the level of describing a necessarily infinite reality. Thus, as it is with our 'senses', we need various different kinds of understanding, all working in tandem with each other to produce the 'bigger picture', and we have philosophy and psychology, arts and 'mysticism'/intuition, among others, evolved for this task. However, because we live in an 'expert' driven society, all the 'senses/methods' are at war with each other, jostling for control, when the only true understanding occurs if we emulate nature itself, and work from a foundation of wholeness..
Within infinitude everything appears to be at the 'centre' of that which it finds detectable ('observable').. So, the moment you create the perspective of a 'centre', you become that centre..Here we can find the real problem with using 'mathematics' as a tool for understanding infinite nature. We have to firstly posit the 'points' to be 'measured' in order for the measurement to take place.. And this is why we end up inventing 'things' that do not exist in reality from mathematical constructs that do not describe the truth about nature..
Another great video, Sabine. That is a very nice outfit you are wearing today!
Just started watching. Really hope this mentions Brouwer's Free Choice Sequences, albeit I fear-despite Sabine's brilliance-it won't. Edit: Yeah, it doesn't. Sad. Missed opportunity. Doubly so since it's THE avenue for formulating physics 'without' 'infinity'.
I remember having seen an interview where she was asked about non-classical logics and her reaction was that she was aware of quantum logic but she didn't seem to tie it to Heytings intuitionistic logic, let alone intuitionism. Despite this, much of this video concerns a Cauchy-like approach to infinity. Indeed, here in this video she tends to zoom in on extension of arithmetic by infinite object, while much of the controversies regarding foundations with infinities concern more general objects. To your final outlook, I think with the rise of type theory, a more computable perspective on math in the future is inevitable at that point.
People generally have a very poor understanding of what the word 'infinite' actually means.. This is not any kind of 'fault', but just that we have evolved within the confines of what appears to be a finite environment, and we thus try to look at things in finite ways, also justifying those 'finite' thoughts. When I first approached the 'problem' I had the same difficulties, so it takes our minds a lot of effort to reach another perspective of understanding, but it IS achievable..
Firstly, there cannot be more than one 'instance' of infinitude, otherwise a secondary 'thing' would render them both 'finite'. So we are describing a 'oneness'.. Also, it can have no 'beginning' nor 'ending' as these would also necessitate a secondary 'thing' (or the utter nonsense of a 'nothing'!), so we are describing 'eternity' when we apply 'time' concepts. Then, we have to admit that it can only be the one thing that interconnects all other 'things', and we deduce this to be 'Space', necessarily..
All references to 'size' or 'direction' do not apply to the nature of infinitude, and thus have no relevance to our understanding of the true nature of existence. 'Measurement' has limitations.. When we point to any position in Space, we effectively create a 'beginning' to any subsequent forms of measurement, which only has relevance to the entity desiring to understand said 'measurement'. Measuring things does not make them a main-feature of the nature of reality, only a desire of 'measurement' from a purely Human perspective.
Within infinitude everything appears to be at the 'centre' of that which it finds detectable ('observable').. So, the moment you create the perspective of a 'centre', you become that centre..Here we can find the real problem with using 'mathematics' as a tool for understanding infinite nature. We have to firstly posit the 'points' to be 'measured' in order for the measurement to take place.. And this is why we end up inventing 'things' that do not exist in reality from mathematical constructs that do not describe the truth about nature..
'Math' is another finite aspect, and so has limited usage. It helps us to describe specific positions and calculate certain desirable measurements to ourselves, so that we may use finite reference points, but it breaks down at the level of describing a necessarily infinite reality. Thus, as it is with our 'senses', we need various different kinds of understanding, all working in tandem with each other to produce the 'bigger picture', and we have philosophy and psychology, arts and 'mysticism'/intuition, among others, evolved for this task. However, because we live in an 'expert' driven society, all the 'senses/methods' are at war with each other, jostling for control, when the only true understanding occurs if we emulate nature itself, and work from a foundation of wholeness..
"Commendation from NASA for research work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the Earth's atmosphere and the Moon's surface for navigation of the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon..
Dr. Milo Wolff has found the structure of the electron consisting of two spherical quantum waves, one moving radially outward and another moving radially inward. The center of the waves is the nominal location of the electron 'particle'. These waves extend infinitely, like charge force. All 'particle' waves mix and contribute to each other, thus all matter of the universe is interrelated by this intimate connection between the fundamental 'particles' and the universe. The natural laws are a direct consequence of this Wave Structure of Matter (WSM), thus WSM underlies all of science."
spaceandmotion
I love these videos but it goes right over my head!