How many other people think that when equations produce the answer 'infinity' that they are not deep and profound but actually are simply nonsense and point to the fact that we have no idea what's going on.

For example, the singularity which has infinite mass and density is a product of our ignorance and simply cannot exist.

42 is the answer

That and one chip equals three biscuits

(September 15, 2019 at 5:14 pm)Darwinian Wrote: How many other people think that when equations produce the answer 'infinity' that they are not deep and profound but actually are simply nonsense and point to the fact that we have no idea what's going on.

For example, the singularity which has infinite mass and density is a product of our ignorance and simply cannot exist.

Well... when the innitial ideas as put forward? People were rather puzzled/skeptical.

Howver, looking out into the cosmos around us litterally shows us that such increadable warpings of reality exist.

That we only have inclings as to what such cosmic powers might be/do? Yah, that's humbling in our lack of understanding.

Cheers.

Not at work.

“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

(September 15, 2019 at 5:14 pm)Darwinian Wrote: How many other people think that when equations produce the answer 'infinity' that they are not deep and profound but actually are simply nonsense and point to the fact that we have no idea what's going on.

For example, the singularity which has infinite mass and density is a product of our ignorance and simply cannot exist.

I hate questions like this. It is true nobody knows what came before the singularity, if anything.

But a super cognition is not required as a gap answer in any either case.

I could however see an infinite cycle fluctuation from temporary states of off, to temporary states of  on. Just like the seasons change on our planet.

I don't see "infinite regress" being a problem if one thinks of "all this" as simply a temporary state that will burn out of energy, go to off, then at some future point after a finite time of being off, lead to a future big bang.

Either way, a sky wizard is not a required starting point.

(September 15, 2019 at 5:14 pm)Darwinian Wrote: How many other people think that when equations produce the answer 'infinity' that they are not deep and profound but actually are simply nonsense and point to the fact that we have no idea what's going on.

For example, the singularity which has infinite mass and density is a product of our ignorance and simply cannot exist.

In math, they can be useful, except for divergent series, that's a no go. In cosmology, I don't know and we can shirley, say we are missing something in our understanding of the universe.

Look at a boiling glass of water under a bunsen burner. Amidst the liquid, bubbles sprout up to the surface. What we can do is wedge those nerds to give them motivation to find sollutions. I don't have access to labs, given my chemistry abilities.

Sup Dar? Long time no see. How is the chess set artisanship?

Since when is dividing by 0 not a good/god idea?

(September 16, 2019 at 2:09 pm)wyzas Wrote: Since when is dividing by 0 not a good/god idea?

I dunno about gods, but its a bad idea. What we can do is converge to zero and try to reason the aproximation. While some people look at the scream and other paintings as art, I stand in wonder about Riemann's hyphothesis, I should.

(September 15, 2019 at 5:14 pm)Darwinian Wrote: How many other people think that when equations produce the answer 'infinity' that they are not deep and profound but actually are simply nonsense and point to the fact that we have no idea what's going on.

For example, the singularity which has infinite mass and density is a product of our ignorance and simply cannot exist.

That depends on the situation. Sometimes it means we don't understand something. Other times it is the 'correct' answer and makes sense in context. Other times it is correct but doesn't 'exist'.

For example, when infinities happen in our calculation of the mass of an electron, we can be pretty sure we are missing something important going on.

But, when water melts, the specific heat goes to infinity. That is just a fancy way of saying that adding heat doesn't lead to an increase of temperature (it leads to more water melting).

Finally, in the Big Bang scenario, the infinities seem to go away when we do quantum gravity. But they also may still be around and signify that our assumptions about space, time, matter, and energy may have to be re-evaluated. In the original BB theory, the singularity means that we cannot even define t=0, let alone t<0. it only makes sense to talk about 'after the Big Bang'.

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(September 16, 2019 at 1:29 pm)LastPoet Wrote:

(September 15, 2019 at 5:14 pm)Darwinian Wrote: How many other people think that when equations produce the answer 'infinity' that they are not deep and profound but actually are simply nonsense and point to the fact that we have no idea what's going on.

For example, the singularity which has infinite mass and density is a product of our ignorance and simply cannot exist.

In math, they can be useful, except for divergent series, that's a no go.

Actually, even that isn't so obvious. There are ways to get information out of divergent series that may, indeed, have physical import.

So, for example, using Cesaro summability, the series

1+(-1)+1+(-1)+1+(-1)+...

which diverges in the ordinary sense, actually converges to 1/2. The same is true for Abel summabillity.

(September 16, 2019 at 4:54 pm)polymath257 Wrote:

(September 15, 2019 at 5:14 pm)Darwinian Wrote: How many other people think that when equations produce the answer 'infinity' that they are not deep and profound but actually are simply nonsense and point to the fact that we have no idea what's going on.

For example, the singularity which has infinite mass and density is a product of our ignorance and simply cannot exist.

That depends on the situation. Sometimes it means we don't understand something. Other times it is the 'correct' answer and makes sense in context. Other times it is correct but doesn't 'exist'.

For example, when infinities happen in our calculation of the mass of an electron, we can be pretty sure we are missing something important going on.

But, when water melts, the specific heat goes to infinity. That is just a fancy way of saying that adding heat doesn't lead to an increase of temperature (it leads to more water melting).

Finally, in the Big Bang scenario, the infinities seem to go away when we do quantum gravity. But they also may still be around and signify that our assumptions about space, time, matter, and energy may have to be re-evaluated. In the original BB theory, the singularity means that we cannot even define t=0, let alone t<0. it only makes sense to talk about 'after the Big Bang'.

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My impression is that virtually all cosmologists view General Relativity as being incomplete at ultra extremely high energies and densities, namely, right after the Big Bang.  But, singularities in GR seem to indicate that a deeper reality needs to be explored, but the mathematics is so far beyond me that I feel embarrassed pontificating any further on any of this.