Thursday, April 11, 2019

A Travelers Definition of Infinity

Now I am not a mathematician nor is the upcoming subject the usual fare for this blog, but here goes anyway.

The concept of infinity has bothered me for a long time. It first really bothered when I was learning calculus and heard that there is always a very small remainder in the typical calculus answer. I foolishly allowed this trivial observation to undermine my confidence in the mathematical strength of calculus. In my mind, I was learning a failed technique that was not perfect. Now, some sixty years later, I am confident that any calculus calculation can be as accurate as we desire, despite being incapable of achieving absolute perfection.

So what might an infinitely small error look like?