Jay3fer Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 We have been talking about infinity lately, and my dd said she likes to look in mirrors when there are 2 back to back so she can try to count the reflections she sees... which is, of course, infinite. But then, we started talking about other things that are infinite, and I got a bit muddled. :huh: - Is the universe infinite? (according to current scientific thinking) - are the number of grains of sand on the earth infinite? (I said no, that they are just very hard to count, but then I thought that if new grains of sand are being formed constantly, than maybe yes...) - are there any infinite THINGS that we can talk about as examples, because right now, she thinks infinity is pretty awesome... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 The Cat in Numberland is a fun book about countable infinities :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 just wanted to say my son loved Cat in Numberland, and my husband, who has 2 degrees in math, was very impressed by the validity of the way it was presented Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay3fer Posted January 15, 2013 Author Share Posted January 15, 2013 Yes!!! Our library has it. We have read books about great big numbers, but infinity is something new. Any other suggestions??? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nansk Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 This book appears to be out-of-print. Amazon lists it for hundreds of dollars used! Thank goodness our library also has it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSinNH Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Thanks for the link to the book; I just ordered it from my library system. We have had some very lively discussions recently with DD9 about infinity. She insists that everything must have an end. I can't wait to see what she thinks of this book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 No other books are coming to me about infinities, but what gets really mind-blowing with math is that there's the distinction between sets that are countably infinite and sets that are uncountably infinite. Cat in Numberland deals more with countable infinity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 The number of grains of sand on the earth is not infinity. It is an actual number, even if more grains of sand are being made. The number would get bigger but would not be infinity. When our oldest son was four, he asked what infinity meant. I told him that numbers never end, that no matter how big a number is, you can add one to it and get a bigger number. Then he asked, "What would happen to me if I ate infinity green beans?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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