infinity
is
not
a
number
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Replying to @InertialObservr
The concept of "number" is pretty flexible. Humans started with whole numbers, then included fractions, then irrational numbers, then zero, then negative numbers, then imaginary and complex numbers. The "extended reals" include +infinity and -infinity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_real_number_line …
10 replies 6 retweets 89 likes -
Replying to @johncarlosbaez
I'm a big fan of the extended reals. Perhaps i should have said "naive manipulations treated as a number are invalid", but that didn't have the same zing to it
5 replies 0 retweets 22 likes -
Replying to @InertialObservr @johncarlosbaez
are the extended reals anything more than a convenient shorthand for limits? I was never really able to see a clear distinction
5 replies 0 retweets 5 likes -
Replying to @InertialObservr
Are real numbers anything more than a convenient shorthand for limits of rationals? Some people think that too. It's a matter of opinion. Luckily, you don't need to have an opinion about these things! The math works fine even if you don't have an opinion.
6 replies 3 retweets 60 likes
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