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| − | '''Infinity''' means beyond enumeration.<ref>This improved definition comports best with the use of the term in mathematics, in everyday life, and across cultures and languages.</ref> Appreciation of infinity -- particularly infinite time -- is remarkably useful mentally and emotionally. "Paradise" is infinite [[happiness]] and [[joy]] eternally; "[[Hell]]" is infinite distress; in electronics, an "open circuit" has infinite resistance.<ref>Anxiety or fear about infinity is a psychiatric condition known as "apeirophobia", which exists because infinity is real.</ref> '''''Recognition of infinite time can overcome almost any anxiety'''''. Financial-related stress can be reduced by recognizing money as being infinite. A human being has infinite potential. | + | '''Infinity''' means beyond enumeration.<ref>This improved definition comports best with the use of the term in mathematics, in everyday life, and across cultures and languages.</ref> Appreciation of infinity -- particularly infinite time -- is remarkably useful mentally and emotionally. "Paradise" is infinite [[happiness]] and [[joy]] eternally; "[[Hell]]" is infinite distress; in electronics, an "open circuit" has infinite resistance.<ref>Anxiety or fear about infinity is a psychiatric condition known as "apeirophobia", which exists because infinity is real.</ref> '''''Recognition of infinite time can overcome almost any anxiety'''''. Financial-related stress can be reduced by recognizing that money is infinite. A human being has infinite potential. |
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| − | The existence of infinity tends to prove the existence of [[God]]. Nature and the universe reflect mathematical truths, and denying the existence of God implicitly denies the existence of infinity, contrary to logic, evidence, and the enormous usefulness of the concept. | + | The existence of infinity tends to prove the existence of [[God]]. The universe reflects mathematical truths, and denying the existence of God implicitly denies the existence of infinity, contrary to logic, evidence, and infinity's enormous usefulness. |
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| − | The food supply is essentially infinite in cultures where obesity is a problem; wealth is essentially infinite for those who cannot spend it all in their lifetime; and time is infinite for those who waste it. "More" in those situations is meaningless; less is nothing to have anxiety about. Some scoff at primitive cultures that use infinity rather than large numbers, but that is a productive way to view quantities larger than meaningful. Also, infinity reinforces the primacy of the future (which is infinite) over the past (merely finite). Given that "time is money," "infinite time" ([[eternal life]]) is "infinite money" and the concept helps deal with financial anxiety. | + | The food supply is essentially infinite in cultures where obesity is a problem; wealth is essentially infinite for those who cannot spend it all in their lifetime; and time is infinite for those who waste it. "More" in those situations is meaningless; less is nothing to have anxiety about. Some scoff at primitive cultures that use infinity rather than large numbers, but that is a productive way to view quantities larger than meaningful. Also, infinity reinforces the primacy of the future (which is infinite) over the past (merely finite). Given that "time is money," "infinite time" ([[eternal life]]) is "infinite money" which helps reduce financial anxiety. |
| | [[File:Abbey Church Saint Louis.jpg|right|200px|thumb|church's infinite accessibility and outreach]] | | [[File:Abbey Church Saint Louis.jpg|right|200px|thumb|church's infinite accessibility and outreach]] |
| | Understanding infinity has advanced many fields, including: | | Understanding infinity has advanced many fields, including: |
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| | *[[architecture]], as in the [[Abbey Church]] in [[St. Louis]] that embraces infinite accessibility and outreach; | | *[[architecture]], as in the [[Abbey Church]] in [[St. Louis]] that embraces infinite accessibility and outreach; |
| | *[[mathematics]] through [[calculus]], [[set theory]] and [[singularity|singularities]]; | | *[[mathematics]] through [[calculus]], [[set theory]] and [[singularity|singularities]]; |
| − | *[[abortion]] through the realization that the unborn child has infinite potential; | + | *[[abortion]], in false denial that the unborn child has infinite potential; |
| | *[[quantum mechanics]] through infinite [[uncertainty]]; | | *[[quantum mechanics]] through infinite [[uncertainty]]; |
| | *[[economics]] through the infinite opportunity discovered by the [[Coase theorem]]; | | *[[economics]] through the infinite opportunity discovered by the [[Coase theorem]]; |
| | + | *grammar through the term "infinitive", which is a description of an action without limitation in subject, time, or tense; |
| | *[[physics]] through the [[Big Bang]] (infinite [[energy]] density) and the speculative [[black holes]] (infinite mass density); | | *[[physics]] through the [[Big Bang]] (infinite [[energy]] density) and the speculative [[black holes]] (infinite mass density); |
| | *[[politics]] through dictatorships (infinite authority) and [[separation of powers]] to avoid concentration of infinite power; | | *[[politics]] through dictatorships (infinite authority) and [[separation of powers]] to avoid concentration of infinite power; |
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| | *[[Resurrection]]: personal awareness of infinite time implies, as a matter of logic, actual realization of infinite time through resurrection; | | *[[Resurrection]]: personal awareness of infinite time implies, as a matter of logic, actual realization of infinite time through resurrection; |
| | *[[Abraham Lincoln]]: "Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality";<ref>https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/abraham_lincoln_121271</ref> | | *[[Abraham Lincoln]]: "Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality";<ref>https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/abraham_lincoln_121271</ref> |
| | + | *in [[baseball]], there is infinite time; |
| | *in [[probability]], impossibility is what is infinitely unlikely; | | *in [[probability]], impossibility is what is infinitely unlikely; |
| | *as to dignity, "Infinite Dignity" is the title of a [[Vatican]] document condemning transgender procedures as published on April 8, 2024;<ref>https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/04/08/240408c.html</ref> | | *as to dignity, "Infinite Dignity" is the title of a [[Vatican]] document condemning transgender procedures as published on April 8, 2024;<ref>https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2024/04/08/240408c.html</ref> |
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| | In [[baseball]], a pitcher has an infinite Earned Run Average (ERA) when he allows earned runs without obtaining any "outs" by the opposing team, because the ERA is a pitcher's average earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched (i.e., 27 outs obtained). In 2019, Nationals relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal had an infinite ERA until he finally obtained an out.<ref>https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/2019/04/11/trevor-rosenthal-nationals-reliever-infinity/3433399002/</ref> | | In [[baseball]], a pitcher has an infinite Earned Run Average (ERA) when he allows earned runs without obtaining any "outs" by the opposing team, because the ERA is a pitcher's average earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched (i.e., 27 outs obtained). In 2019, Nationals relief pitcher Trevor Rosenthal had an infinite ERA until he finally obtained an out.<ref>https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/2019/04/11/trevor-rosenthal-nationals-reliever-infinity/3433399002/</ref> |
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| − | Baseball has a potentially infinite duration, with no time limits. For this and other reasons, the game has been described as timeless. | + | Baseball has no clock and no time limits. For this and other reasons, this classic game has been described as timeless (which is the same as infinite time). |
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| | == Ongoing disputes about infinity == | | == Ongoing disputes about infinity == |