Torgny Tholerus wrote: > Stathis Papaioannou skrev: >> On 3/14/07, *Torgny Tholerus* <[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote: >> >> Stathis Papaioannou skrev: >>> How can you be sure? Maybe space is discrete. >> Yes, space (and time) is discrete. Everything in the universe is >> finite, and the universe itself is finite. Infinity is a >> logically impossible concept. >> >> >> I don't see that "discrete" and "finite" necessarily go together. The >> integers are discrete, but not finite. > No, the integers are finite. There exists only a finite numer of > integers. There exists a biggest integer N. It is true that you can > construct the integer N+1, but this integer is not a member of the set > of all integers.
This must be computer arithmetic (modulo N?) - not Peano's. :-) > > Because everything is finite, you can conclude that the space-time is > discrete. That doesn't follow. The universe could be finite and closed, like the interval [0,1] and space could still be a continuum. But these ideas illustrate a problem with "everything-exists". Everything conceivable, i.e. not self-contradictory is so ill defined it seems impossible to assign any measure to it, and without a measure, something to pick out this rather than that, the theory is empty. It just says what is possible is possible. But if there a measure, something picks out this rather than that, we can ask why THAT measure? Brent Meeker --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to everything-list@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
