Mathematicians often use the concept of infinity. But real life applications abound. For example, each of our lives may be considered infinite as one never knows birth or death, just what comes in between.
Which shows that infinity is one of those things that makes the brain hurt. Zeno's infinity paradox has inspired countless (see?) philosophers. The idea of adding up infinitely many infinitesimally small amounts to make something is the basis of calculus. In the stock market short sellers have a theoretically infinite loss potential.
German mathematician Georg Cantor proved that there are different orders of infinity: some infinities are larger than others. There are more real numbers, for example, than counting numbers, even though there is an infinite number of each.
Einstein proposed that the universe is infinite in three dimensions, and finite in four, somewhat following the math of Gabriel's Horn, which is infinite in surface area and finite in volume, making it possible to fill but not to wash.
Is your head hurting yet?
Showing posts with label Albert Einstein. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Albert Einstein. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
What would we do without O.J. Simpson?
His approval ratings may be low, but he’s as newsworthy as ever. President Bush? Senator Craig? Nope, we’re talking about OJ.
Google OJ Simpson and you’ll get 11.6 million results. So where does that rank among others with low approval ratings? President Bush gets 45 million; Senator Craig just 1.1 million. Apparently one good way to lower your visibility is to deny that you’re gay.
Britney Spears got 61% more results than the president with 72.3 million. Among other bad girls in the news, Paris Hilton came in 2nd with 40.6 million. Lindsay Lohan couldn’t even break eight figures; she had under 10 million Google results.
Math’s most famous and longstanding mystery – finding a proof for Fermat’s Last Theorem – was finally solved by Professor Andrew Wiles. But he gets only 158,000 Google results. Albert Einstein garnered four million.
Einstein is still way behind OJ but I have faith: given enough of the fourth dimension of time, Einstein will eventually triumph.
Google OJ Simpson and you’ll get 11.6 million results. So where does that rank among others with low approval ratings? President Bush gets 45 million; Senator Craig just 1.1 million. Apparently one good way to lower your visibility is to deny that you’re gay.
Britney Spears got 61% more results than the president with 72.3 million. Among other bad girls in the news, Paris Hilton came in 2nd with 40.6 million. Lindsay Lohan couldn’t even break eight figures; she had under 10 million Google results.
Math’s most famous and longstanding mystery – finding a proof for Fermat’s Last Theorem – was finally solved by Professor Andrew Wiles. But he gets only 158,000 Google results. Albert Einstein garnered four million.
Einstein is still way behind OJ but I have faith: given enough of the fourth dimension of time, Einstein will eventually triumph.
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