Infinity

I watched the programme about mathematicians and the matter of infinity (see Wed, 10th February.) It was quite entertaining, a bit of an eye opener, and mostly comprehensible. It seems that mathematicians are at each other’s throats over the question of whether infinity is conceivable as an objective reality, or only as a theoretical concept. Personally, I think they’re questioning the nature of existence a little too narrowly, but that’s another story.

What amused me was being told that one brilliant mathematician went insane, such was his inability to cope with the dilemma. Poor bloke should have been a bricklayer. Is standard bond or Flemish bond best? Oh dear; maybe not.

When I get to that point at the edge of the continental shelf where logic simply doesn’t function, as I do occasionally, I usually take refuge in the Tao. I recommend it to everybody.