ElizabethB Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I understand and accept the point mathematically and logically, but it just feels like some infinite sets should be bigger. Also, did you know that "Kitties no like Pre-Algebra?" (My children get extra problems or chores, whichever I feel like doling out, for whining, but little quiet kitty doodles are allowed to cry little lead tears and say they no like Pre-Algebra.) There was no actual crying in math today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I thought some infinities were 'bigger'? Eg and set of all even numbers is infinitely large, but the set of all odd and even numbers is larger because every even number has an odd number after it. But I'm not a math person, so who knows... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Yes, it's true. There are some infinities that are large than others. There's a Ted-Ed video on it I think, let me look... How Big Is Infinity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Infinity is not infinity. That is not the mathematical perspective at all. Do not be distressed. And get yourself a copy of Aha! Gotcha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Late in college I had a friend who was recently introduced to the concept of "Finite Infinity". Think of it more as "Beyond comprehension". He was having trouble with the concept. I got it right away. How I explained it to him this way, If you take one Finite Infinity number and divide it another Finite Infinity number you might get 3 as an answer. If you do that with Infinate Infinate numbers, you get an error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I think the documentary, "The Story of Maths" explains infinity really well. They also talk about some infinities being larger then other infinities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeghanL Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 My oldest son & DH were talking about this just the other day. The question was, if you have an infinite number of pizzas with an infinite number of pepperoni's, how many pepperoni's are on each pizza. There are sub-levels of infinity. The explanation required lots of white board drawings. I only understood the pepperoni pizza part. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 A set can be countably infinite (like the natural numbers, the integers, and (surprisingly) the rationals). It could be uncountably infinite (like the real numbers or (0,1)). The Cat in Numberland is a cute book about countable infinity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 The Cat in Numberland is a cute book about countable infinity. Kitty might like it since it has cats! I added it to my wish list, maybe the price will go down. We are currently not near a good library system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Kitty might like it since it has cats! I added it to my wish list, maybe the price will go down. We are currently not near a good library system. Our main library doesn't have it but the neighboring county does. It's a cool explanation about countably infinite sets :) You might be able to use ILL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.