It is a fact of set theory that the number of infinities (i.e. set cardinalities) must be larger than any particular infinity. But whether anything physical is infinite, either in divisibility or extent, is an open question. Infinity, perhaps paradoxically, makes the mathematics we use to describe our world more tractable; but that does not in itself make it true.
Curiously, many ancient Greek mathematicians, if I am reading Jacob Klein correctly, thought the opposite: the physical world is infinitely divisible but numbers are not. What we think of as the number one, they thought of as a special category, the monad, a kind of numerical atom distinct from the other numbers (arithmos.)
I feel like Borges’ Lottery of Babylon and Library of Babel are both good explorations of the sublime. The Library is definitely more on the mathematical side.
What a treat, Kate! Love your voice. My son was briefly on Seroquel, and if I'd known about half that stuff, I would never have allowed it. Or maybe I would. Psychosis is pretty scary.
We read Burke's book in grad school, thanks for the mini-bio, which made me LOL. Big thanks for the mindmaps. I know what I'm doing the rest of this weekend . . . .
Indeed, some rabbit holes do lead to - or connect with - entire warrens. And the notion of an interactive encyclopedia of Fauna that Could Kill You actually sounds seriously intriguing. The only thing that might be better would be a physical book of it - complete with pop-up illustrations (like the ones in my dog-eared pop-up book of phobias). Technically, most forms of bats that populate the western U.S. where I live, would not be included in the aforementioned interactive encyclopedia. But (and it's interesting how 'we', metaphorically, seize upon and/or are fascinated by certain details) I learned last night, while attending a fascinating (to me, at least) lecture, complete with photos & videos, about bat behavior - is that insectivorous bats don't snatch or grab or swallow their prey after echo-locating in at night-- rather, they quickly envelope and semi-immobilize it in their wings, while moving it to their mouths where they can (finally) then eat it. All of which is, to me, very cool fauna behavior.
Thank you for the various rabbit-holes in this post of yours. They are all worthy ones to return to. And greetings from Oregon where, thanks to the ongoing and evolving horrors of global warming, it is once more unseasonably warm in the seemingly endless summer of what used to be a refreshingly four-seasons climactic corner of the planet. Now to await the nightfall where, if I'm lucky, I'll see some bats... instead of hearing or reading about them.
It is a fact of set theory that the number of infinities (i.e. set cardinalities) must be larger than any particular infinity. But whether anything physical is infinite, either in divisibility or extent, is an open question. Infinity, perhaps paradoxically, makes the mathematics we use to describe our world more tractable; but that does not in itself make it true.
Curiously, many ancient Greek mathematicians, if I am reading Jacob Klein correctly, thought the opposite: the physical world is infinitely divisible but numbers are not. What we think of as the number one, they thought of as a special category, the monad, a kind of numerical atom distinct from the other numbers (arithmos.)
I feel like Borges’ Lottery of Babylon and Library of Babel are both good explorations of the sublime. The Library is definitely more on the mathematical side.
this was incredible
I think too of Sianne Ngai’s _stuplime_ in this context https://www.pomoculture.org/2013/09/19/stuplimity-shock-and-boredom-in-twentieth-century-aesthetics/
What a treat, Kate! Love your voice. My son was briefly on Seroquel, and if I'd known about half that stuff, I would never have allowed it. Or maybe I would. Psychosis is pretty scary.
We read Burke's book in grad school, thanks for the mini-bio, which made me LOL. Big thanks for the mindmaps. I know what I'm doing the rest of this weekend . . . .
Indeed, some rabbit holes do lead to - or connect with - entire warrens. And the notion of an interactive encyclopedia of Fauna that Could Kill You actually sounds seriously intriguing. The only thing that might be better would be a physical book of it - complete with pop-up illustrations (like the ones in my dog-eared pop-up book of phobias). Technically, most forms of bats that populate the western U.S. where I live, would not be included in the aforementioned interactive encyclopedia. But (and it's interesting how 'we', metaphorically, seize upon and/or are fascinated by certain details) I learned last night, while attending a fascinating (to me, at least) lecture, complete with photos & videos, about bat behavior - is that insectivorous bats don't snatch or grab or swallow their prey after echo-locating in at night-- rather, they quickly envelope and semi-immobilize it in their wings, while moving it to their mouths where they can (finally) then eat it. All of which is, to me, very cool fauna behavior.
Thank you for the various rabbit-holes in this post of yours. They are all worthy ones to return to. And greetings from Oregon where, thanks to the ongoing and evolving horrors of global warming, it is once more unseasonably warm in the seemingly endless summer of what used to be a refreshingly four-seasons climactic corner of the planet. Now to await the nightfall where, if I'm lucky, I'll see some bats... instead of hearing or reading about them.