A Cultural overview on the concept of infinity

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs20191.17.38

Keywords:

infinity, mathematics, culture, education, school, research, mystery.

Abstract

Abstract: The human being meets the idea of infinity very early, still a child, when he  realises that he can go on counting using  natural numbers until it is impossible to continue to count. The idea of infinity attracts and rejects, sometimes becomes an  object of desire and sometimes of study and systematic research. Infinity is the testimony that intellect, even starting from experience, can overcome limits and boundaries. Our own limited experience on the Earth suggests the existence of something beyond it. Scientists, artists, philosophers, musicians, writers, mathematicians have often assumed towards this concept positions and opinions sensitively different. Infinity would be, by its etymology and nature, what escapes all possible classification and measurement, while mathematics tends to classify and measure every object it examines, and  has been able to measure it. Infinity follows us from primary school until university, but often remains a misunderstood concept in the mathematical sense.

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Author Biography

  • Paolo Di Sia, University of Padova, Via 8 Febbraio 1848, 2, 35122 Padova PD, Italy

    Paolo Di Sia is currently adjunct professor by the University of Padova (Italy) and by the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (Italy). Scientific interests: transdisciplinary physics, nanophysics, theories of everything, metaphysics, foundations of physics, history and philosophy of science. He is author of 274 works to date, is reviewer of some academic books, editor of 3 international academic books, reviewer of 14 international journals. He obtained many international awards, is member of 10 scientific societies and of 39 International Advisory/Editorial Boards, recently selected for the awards of Doctor of Science (D.Sc) and Doctor of Mathematics (D.Math) as legitimate honors by the International American Council for Research and Development, California Public University, USA.

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Published

2019-06-30

How to Cite

Di Sia, P. (2019). A Cultural overview on the concept of infinity. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 10(1), 17-38. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs20191.17.38