The Concept of Infinity

Infinity is a value that is beyond our reach. Or so we learnt from our textbooks and never gave it a thought again. Recently, my younger sister who treats me like her younger brother asked me why we could not cancel infinity with infinity and write the quotient as 1. I started explaining, "So imagine. Infinity is something which cannot be counted. If the infinity in the numerator is infinity and the infinity in the denominator is one less than infinity which is also equal to infinity, then you cannot write a 1." I know, that sounds like crap.

So I sat down and started writing this. For the second time, imagine this. If a newly born baby started writing numbers the whole time everyday, till she/he reached old age and passed away, they still wouldn't have reached infinity. And if their posterity continued from where that person left, still they would not reach infinity because the numbers still keep going on and on like a woman's chatter. The funny part is, all those numbers were written using just 10 digits, 0 to 9.

If it is this difficult to imagine what infinity would be like, we are taught that the universe is an infinite space of emptiness. If we could not even cross the galaxy, what could probably exist beyond that? Beyond the last known galaxy? Spooky thoughts! What if some other person somewhere in this infinite space is writing the same crap and sheepishly grinning at the thought?

However, it is to be kept in mind that infinity is an invented concept and it did not exist before man thought about it. The metric system, the calculations, the theories, algorithms, programs and equations were all human invented. Now if you are wondering if there is something that we did not create and complicate our lives, there sure is. It is called time. That is the only known quantity that no one came up with, not even Einstein or the other eminent scientists of His time. Notice the transition? The sentence 'we live in a different time now' says it all. The quantity has changed! It is changing even now as I write one word and move to the next! Merlin's beard!

Yes that was a Harry Potter's reference, thanks to Rowling.

'To infinity and beyond!' Nope, not gonna go there bro.