Of all of the complex formulas and abstract theories I’ve uncovered throughout my educational career, the one that equally intrigues and confuses me is the concept of infinity. As my physics teacher poses theoretical scenarios about the movement of a particle in space, he says, “and it will go on, and on, and on, forever, right?” Right, of course, according to the laws of physics, I ponder in response, but how can something truly go on forever?
Is there not a beginning and an end to everything? Doesn’t everything have to start somewhere? How do you bring rationality to such a concept? Something infinite cannot be tangible, yet we use in everyday concepts and calculations. Take pi, for example. An infinite number in concept, with a finite length in reality: currently at 10 trillion digits, a number so great I struggle to wrap my head around it, yet it is still nowhere near infinity. Pi, used most simply to find the circumferences and areas of circles, is a part of everyday calculations. An infinite number with practical aspects. Mankind knows 10 trillion of its digits, yet 10 trillion is a finite number. If at some point our technology does not allow for the discovery of any more digits, is it truly infinite?
It simply does not make sense that we apply the same mathematical principles used on numbers to infinity, as it is not a number. The current understanding is that infinity plus or minus any number is still infinity, and infinity divided by any number is still infinity. Considering these assumptions, what is infinity minus infinity? Infinity divided by infinity? Following the known laws of math, the answers should be zero and one, respectively. But it seems baffling to apply such simplistic rules derived to work indefinitely on numbers to such an abstract quantity, when in reality, as Hazel Grace puts it, “Some infinities are bigger than other infinities.”
Furthermore, the concept of infinity spans beyond scientific levels to those which are personal and human. How does a greater being fit into the concept of infinity? Some know God as the creator of the universe, but then who created God? To get through the day, many people believe in some sort of afterlife or in the idea that some part of ourselves will continue on indefinitely. What sort of progression would occur in the afterlife? Is there ever an end, or will your soul dwell infinitely?
I have posed a dozen of questions regarding the concept of infinity, and the truth of the matter is that I could pose hundreds more and only leave myself infinitely puzzled and bothered. Infinity is truly infinite -- no pun intended -- in magnitude, in thought, in concept. There is no one answer to “what infinity is,” but in research there is an abundance of knowledge to discover. Infinity, a vital mathematical resource, remains out of reach of comprehension. So, to those who also hope to one day find rationality in the sideways eight -- off to infinity… and beyond?
