Can infinity exist?

[sin_is_fun]

What is infinity?Infinity is defined by www.dictionary.com as 'Having no boundaries or limits'.

If anything is infinite it shouldnt be limited.We cannot say 'limited infinity' or 'infinity within borders'.If something is infinite then it means it doesnt have any borders.If it doesnt have any borders then it includes everything else into it.So there is only one thing which has no borders,beginning or end.

The concept of infinity drags us closer to pantheism,doesnt it?

[Sender]

I do want to paricipate in this discussion, I just need to rationilize infinite before I can. I am not being dificult by any measure, just laying the ground work of a mutual understanding so we can procede. Having said that let me ask you this. Why do you think the world is going to end? If this is off topic I will refrain from further questioning. However, I think it is on topic because questions need answered in order to begin.

[McCulloch]

Why do you think the world is going to end?

Because from what I have read of astrophysics, there probably will be a time when our star will nova. Earth will burn. If that does not happen, eventually our star will run out of fuel and get cold. Earth may still exist but there will be no new snowflakes.

[QED]

Why do you think the world is going to end?

If by 'world' you mean our planet then our star will be responsible for it's ultimate demise:

For most of their lives, stars live on the Main Sequence on the [Hertzsprung-Russel] diagram, which indicates a state of hydrostatic equilibrium and a stable structure. As the star gets older, however, it leaves the Main Sequence phase, as there is no longer sufficient hydrogen in the core to provide the correct radiation pressure to balance gravity. Once this occurs, the centre of the star contracts until it is hot enough for its helium to be converted into carbon. The outer layers of the star expand to conserve energy, making the star appear brighter and cooler. Stars at this stage are called red giants. Many of the star's outer layers are lost during this phase.

Eventually the energy being generated on the inside of such a star runs out, and it collapses to form a white dwarf.

From European Space Agency Science Programme.

But if by 'world' you mean universe, that is a question of its geometry and density. Perhaps you could clarify?

[Being1]

Can I ask what we are trying to establish in this discussion? It interests me. Infinity is a very difficult concept for the mind to grasp. However it seems to me to be unavoidably obvious. Wherever one draws a line then there is something outside that line and therefore there can be no end. What is curious to me, is that this concept of infinity is also finite because it is one infinity. This to me is the greatest paradox, and closest definition of God (the Isness) - one infinite reality.

[QED]

Infinity is a very difficult concept for the mind to grasp. However it seems to me to be unavoidably obvious. Wherever one draws a line then there is something outside that line and therefore there can be no end.

I would say that in principle it is always possible to add one more integer or measure one more inch or count one more object, but in practice there appear to be limits. There are no shortage of estimates for the total number of atoms in the universe (we should really talk about energy because of E=mc^2) but through inflationary theory the number is thought to be finite. So there is a limit to the number of things that can be counted. And the geometry of space is thought to be finite (but unbounded) so there are only so many unique inches that can be measured and because there was a beginning of time (in the big bang) and an end of time (when the distance between particles put them beyond each others light horizons ~ or sooner!) then there are only so many integers that can be counted as each requires a finite time to be accumulated somehow.

[Being1]

Infinity is a very difficult concept for the mind to grasp. However it seems to me to be unavoidably obvious. Wherever one draws a line then there is something outside that line and therefore there can be no end.

I would say that in principle it is always possible to add one more integer or measure one more inch or count one more object, but in practice there appear to be limits. There are no shortage of estimates for the total number of atoms in the universe (we should really talk about energy because of E=mc^2) but through inflationary theory the number is thought to be finite. So there is a limit to the number of things that can be counted. And the geometry of space is thought to be finite (but unbounded) so there are only so many unique inches that can be measured and because there was a beginning of time (in the big bang) and an end of time (when the distance between particles put them beyond each others light horizons ~ or sooner!) then there are only so many integers that can be counted as each requires a finite time to be accumulated somehow.

My view is that without limits, nothing could exist, so without limits, we could not be having this conversation. Also, without limits we could not ever concieve of its opposite, infinity. For me, the finite and the infinite are the two poles of the absolute, the essence of our being. The human mind (which is not our being) can only work within the constraints of the finite because it is bourn of the constraints of the finite, and therefore has no way of comprehending the infinite. Theories and beliefs are constructs of the human mind, so while we are operating within them, we cannot ever sense the infinite.

[Sender]

Are emotions infinite? Can the RESULTS of love be "observable" proof and "repeatable" proof for it's existance. I believe it can be used. If you are in love you probabbly will have a bounce in your step. You probably smile more and are more posiitive in your overall outlook on life. Would you all agree that those and other things are more positive because of being in love, correct? Allow me then to say for the moment love is allowed to be considered infinite. What conclusions can we draw, what does it mean?

[Sender]

Are emotions infinite? Can the RESULTS of love be "observable" proof and "repeatable" proof for it's existance? I believe it can be used. If you are in love you probabbly will have a bounce in your step. You probably smile more and are more posiitive in your overall outlook on life. Would you all agree that those and other happenings are more positive because of being in love, correct? Allow me then to say for the moment love is allowed to be considered infinite. What conclusions can we draw, and what does it mean with regards to our topic starter?

[lifeisboring]

Infinity is just a concept thought by men as an opposite to "limited".

Can infinity exist?

Well, for starters, it's kinda hard to prove that, I dunno, a line is infinite if it's so long that you can't reach the end of it.