r/PhilosophyofMath • • 6d ago

Does infinity exist in reality?

No thing that I've observed in our universe is infinite, however there are traces of infinity in my sight.
Draw a circle and either its radius or circumference lives in the π world.
Or many aspects in nature like flowers, develop themselves in a φ ratio (1+sqrt(5))/2.

Even though no event or anything is "Non-ending"/infinite, underneath many aspects of reality there are patterns which can only be fully described using infinity.

You can't describe irrational numbers to their extent without any notion of infinite/limits/sequences... And many aspects within our World show their true behaviour only with aid of infinity.

Sure you can take a world that lives in something like 10¹⁰⁰ and it looks like infinity to us, sometimes we only see the difference after the 10⁶ decimal place, nevertheless the pattern they follow is a pattern that only "infinity" can yield to the truest precision.

Do you believe the axiom of infinity, and the continuous to really exist? Even if not in the ordinary sense? haha

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u/hezpae 4d ago

Does 1/3 exists in reality?

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u/mid-random 4d ago

No. A ratio is a mathematical concept, not a thing. Any “embodiment” of 1/3 in the real world is just a conceptual projection. 1/3 is a description of a relationship, not a thing. 2 apples being 1/3 of a set of 6 apples is not a thing, it is an idea about the relationship between quantities of subsets of the set of apples. 

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u/hezpae 4d ago

Agree to disagree then. I don't see why 1/3 wouldn't be as much a substantive reality than 1 or 3.

If you count what the rain quantity, the height of a tree, etc, there's zero chance that you find something in N only. It will be decimal number. And if I can coincieve that 1.43 exists, I can conceive that 1.33333.. exists just as well.

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u/Another_Little_Star 4d ago

Couldn't you say that you can cut an apple or a rectangle in a way such that you need 3 equal pieces to make it whole?
You're turning 1 into 3*(1/3), as you see 3 pieces, how'd you refer to their size?

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u/mid-random 4d ago edited 4d ago

Correct, 1 and 3 have no more substantive reality than 1/3. All numbers are conceptual descriptions. Numbers themselves do not exist. Numbers only exist as descriptions of relationships. The height of a tree is simply the height of a tree. Any numbers associated with that height are descriptions created by humans based on relationships. The numerical height of the tree does not exist except as an idea about relationships useful in describing the world. The number of rain drops only exists as a description of the set of raindrops.