Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Why infinity is scary.
Lying awake in our beds on hot summer nights, my older brother and I used to frighten ourselves with physics.
We would imagine the biggest thing in existence - like maybe the universe - and then imagine something twice that size, or ten or a hundred times that size. My god, where would you put a hundred universes? One takes up all the space already. So you end up with infinity.
Then, the reverse. Half of the smallest atomic particle, then half again until infinity.
So, because there was no beginning and end, and therefore no real relativity or comparison point, we decided nothing could really exist.
Then we would try to sleep.
is it time for a nap yet? i think so
We would imagine the biggest thing in existence - like maybe the universe - and then imagine something twice that size, or ten or a hundred times that size. My god, where would you put a hundred universes? One takes up all the space already. So you end up with infinity.
Then, the reverse. Half of the smallest atomic particle, then half again until infinity.
So, because there was no beginning and end, and therefore no real relativity or comparison point, we decided nothing could really exist.
Then we would try to sleep.
is it time for a nap yet? i think so
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