| Line 1: |
Line 1: |
| − | '''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 is remarkably useful mentally, emotionally, and on a personal level. Infinity helps define other terms ("paradise" is infinite happiness; "[[Hell]]" is infinite distress; in electronics, a "open circuit" has infinite resistance). Anxiety or fear about infinity is a psychiatric condition known as "apeirophobia", which exists because infinity is real. | + | '''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 is remarkably useful mentally, emotionally, and on a personal level. "Paradise" is infinite happiness; "[[Hell]]" is infinite distress; in electronics, a "open circuit" has infinite resistance). Anxiety or fear about infinity is a psychiatric condition known as "apeirophobia", which exists because infinity is real. |
| | | | |
| | 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 actually productive in viewing 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 is helpful in dealing 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 actually productive in viewing 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 is helpful in dealing with financial anxiety. |
| Line 15: |
Line 15: |
| | *[[sociology]]: traditional [[marriage]] is infinitely more stable than other types of relationships; | | *[[sociology]]: traditional [[marriage]] is infinitely more stable than other types of relationships; |
| | *[[rock music]]: paradise (in love songs, such as "Two Tickets to Paradise") represents infinite happiness; | | *[[rock music]]: paradise (in love songs, such as "Two Tickets to Paradise") represents infinite happiness; |
| − | *paintings: infinity dreamscapes, as in the [[Surrealist]] ''Mama, Papa Is Wounded!'' (1927);<ref>https://www.history.com/topics/art-history/surrealism-history</ref> and | + | *paintings: [[Salvador Dali]]'s work (including his infinite time in ''[[The Persistence of Memory]]''), and other [[Surrealism]] such as ''Mama, Papa Is Wounded!'' (1927);<ref>https://www.history.com/topics/art-history/surrealism-history</ref> and |
| | *understanding other terms: infinity helps define other terms concisely, such as "open circuit" (infinite resistance). | | *understanding other terms: infinity helps define other terms concisely, such as "open circuit" (infinite resistance). |
| | *in [[infinity in engineering|engineering]]: in a DC circuit, a capacitor has infinite resistance, while [[Earth]] has infinite capacitance. | | *in [[infinity in engineering|engineering]]: in a DC circuit, a capacitor has infinite resistance, while [[Earth]] has infinite capacitance. |