Our server costs ~$56 per month to run. Please consider donating or becoming a Patron to help keep the site running. Help us gain new members by following us on Twitter and liking our page on Facebook!
Current time: July 17, 2025, 8:23 pm

Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Forget Flat Earth Theory, now we have Flat Universe Theory!
#25
RE: Forget Flat Earth Theory, now we have Flat Universe Theory!
(November 25, 2010 at 4:09 pm)TheDarkestOfAngels Wrote: You are indeed correct that mathmatical infinities are quite possible. This cannot and never does apply to reality.
By this omission I think you've unintentionally made a claim to knowledge by arguing the negative.

I agree that the context in which chuck is trying to apply infinity as a quantitative measurement of the cosmos was impractical in a sense, but that's because the very definition of the word is unboundedness. Its usage only begs further questions as to whether the universe actually has "limits" in the literal sense. What does the universe exist in? Is it the very fabric of reality or merely a closed system within other universes? Is there an inside or outside to it? By our current knowledge the answers to such rhetoric is unattainable. It's all speculation at this point...

When I refuse to use the term 'infinity' I'm merely being pragmatic. I do the same whenever someone makes a red herring argument from absolute knowledge because it would be absurd for us to label anything as "infinite" or "absolute", regardless of whether its square bounds or causal effects are know or not because you can't get from finite to infinite, there is no "highest number". Likewise you can't reach omniscience for this reason if causes and events are still ongoing. It's implausible to correspond or correlate anything else to eternity... I doubt we'd even be able to identify it when we got to it, assuming we're actually existing within an infinite cosmos of course.

However despite my objections, I must recognise that logic alone cannot refute the concept of unboundedness, theoretically in physics it may have valid applications in cosmology; since we don't yet know the scope of the universe or indeed if there is even an end to measure to or from, infinity subsequently falls into the category of the logically unknowable, not the logically impossible.

As far as I know and believe the universe is vast, transfinite even, but infinite? I make can no assertions either way for I simply don't know.
Reply



Messages In This Thread
RE: Forget Flat Earth Theory, now we have Flat Universe Theory! - by Welsh cake - November 27, 2010 at 8:19 am

Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Is it possible that the universe could be eternal??... dave4shmups 145 31742 August 9, 2023 at 11:13 pm
Last Post: LinuxGal
  Earth's Gravity Hole Bucky Ball 2 1429 July 29, 2023 at 1:27 am
Last Post: Anomalocaris
  The Universe Is Not Locally Real Silver 52 9577 December 31, 2022 at 2:11 pm
Last Post: Anomalocaris
  What does God have in common with String Theory? LinuxGal 2 1314 December 30, 2022 at 1:45 pm
Last Post: Anomalocaris
  The shape of Earth h311inac311 162 36085 December 4, 2022 at 1:06 am
Last Post: Anomalocaris
  Young Earth Creationism LinuxGal 3 1326 November 26, 2022 at 8:21 pm
Last Post: LinuxGal
  Infinite Universe? JairCrawford 13 2219 May 4, 2022 at 5:17 am
Last Post: BrianSoddingBoru4
  Earth’s energy budget is out of balance Jehanne 5 1225 August 20, 2021 at 2:09 pm
Last Post: popeyespappy
  Now we know when the first stars in the universe switched on Silver 1 806 June 28, 2021 at 6:47 am
Last Post: vulcanlogician
  Another universe existed before ours Silver 27 4796 November 29, 2020 at 10:05 am
Last Post: Gawdzilla Sama



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)