Topic > To infinity! And beyond? - 721

"To infinity and beyond!" Buzz Lightyear's famous quote. But there may be a problem with this famous saying. Is there really something beyond infinity? Is this even possible? How about when you were a kid and you were arguing with one of your friends: “I have infinite points!” “Well, I have infinite plus one points!” "I have infinite times two points!" But are they possible? What is infinity plus one? Or infinite for two? These questions are difficult to address, but the definition of infinity, the history of infinity, and the types of infinity can help clear up some confusion. Infinity is quite easy to define. It's actually simpler than things that end, because you have to define where they end. As Rod Pierce says, “Infinity is the idea of ​​something that has no end.” Nothing like that exists in our world, so, as Pierce states, we think of it as "continuously traveling, striving to get there, but this isn't actually infinity." It gives you a headache when you think about it this way, so think more boundlessly or infinitely. Even large numbers, like googol (10 to the 100 power) and googolplex (10 to the 10 to the 100 power), are finite. They're not even close to infinite. However, like finite numbers, infinity also does not grow, it is as large as it will become. This is a difficult statement to understand, especially since, as previously stated, most people think that infinity continues forever. There is a positive side to these two statements, infinity does not grow and infinity is infinite, we can answer the question infinity plus one, which would still be equal to infinity, because if infinity is infinite and does not grow, then it would still be infinite if you add one. “If there is no reason… middle of paper…… Web.19 March 2014. Barrow, John D. “Does Infinity Exist?” Plus Magazine, 2 July 2012. Web. 13 March 2014 . Bogomolny, Alexander. “What is Infinity?” Cut The Knot, March 19, 2014. Chu-Caroll, Mark C. “Infinity is NOT a Number. Good math, bad math. Blog." 2010. Web. March 19, 2014. Grime, James. "Infinity is bigger than you think." Toronto Mathematics Network, 1997. Web. March 11, 2014. Pierce, Rod "What is Infinity: You Can't Get There From Here." Platonic Realms Minitexts, March 13, 2014. Web. March 19, 14. Wolchover, Natalie, and Quanta Magazine. "Dispute Over Infinity Divides Mathematicians." Scientific America, December 3, 2013. Web. March 11 2014.