Re: zero and infinity

From: Max Keon (mkeon_at_ozemail.com.au)
Date: 09/14/04 

Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 23:39:14 +1000

Dirk Van de moortel wrote:
>
>"P&H" <philtang@netvigator.com> wrote in message news:ci0b0n$1nu991@imsp212.netvigator.com...
>> Given that :
>> (a) X divided by zero approaches infinity;
>
> You cannot divide by 0.

>> (b) X divided by infinity approaches zero;
>
> Infinity is not a number.
> You cannot divide by something that is not a number.

>> (c) Zero divided by X is equal to 0; and
>
> only if X is not 0

>> (d) X divided by X is equal to 1;
>
> only if X is not 0

>> Grateful if someone could explain to me whether "zero divided by zero"
>> should be :
>> (a) approaching infinity? or
>> (b) approaching zero? or
>> (c) equal to 1?
>>
>> In that event, what is the relationship among 0, 1 and infinity?
>> Thanks.

> 0 is a real number
> 1 is a real number
> infinity is not a real number.

Where on earth did you get the strange idea that zero is some sort
of number that can be deemed real while infinity is not? The number
"zero" may be the starting point on your ruler, but does that have
anything to do with zero dimension? The tangible zero seems to be
the one you are considering, but I don't think it was the zero "P&H"
was wishing to compare with infinity?

Or is it the fact that zero can (seemingly) be isolated in any point
anywhere in the universe that led you to the false conclusion that
zero is within the bounds of your comprehension and is therefore a
valid base number? That is not the case though because both zero and
infinity are equally infinitely removed from anything that exists
in dimension between the two extremes, and that is extremely obvious
isn't it! But what isn't so obvious is the fact that they are both
directly related to each other at the zero point, because they are
one and the same. Which is which depends entirely on the point of
view. http://www.ozemail.com.au/~mkeon/the1-1a.html
How do you like them apples?

Zero * infinity equals one (one universe perhaps).
Zero / infinity equals zero (if it has any meaning).
Infinity / zero equals infinity (ditto).
Zero / zero can only equal zero (absolutely nothing zero), just
as infinity / infinity can only equal zero because they are each
the division of two non existent values relative to each other.
-----

Regardless of how you feel about the content of my post, you have
really earned yourself some fumble space on your web page. I'll even
set up the address for you so that all you need do is fill in the
details.

http://users.pandora.be/vdmoortel/dirk/Physics/Fumbles/I_can_see_nothing.html

I look forward to your unbiased appraisal of your fumble. 

-- 
Max Keon

Relevant Pages

  • Re: infinity
    ... >> If you ask most people what infinity times zero is, ... which is a sparse set in the reals. ... mapped by any finite formula from the naturals. ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: John Gabriels Theorem Revisited.
    ... w/n can never be zero, no matter how large you make n. ... The difference between zero and infinity is that we can perform finite ... in his proof is the use of what he calls positional derivatives. ... average sum and average tangent theorem. ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: You Dont Have to Be Nuts to Be a Mathematician ...
    ... Extended from minus infinity to plus infinity. ... a universal meaning of numbers and in particular of zero. ... > neutral zero between positive and negative numbers. ... > must be fundamentally revised in order to purify mathematics from some ...
    (sci.math)
  • Re: Checking for Undefined [was Re: Ada vs Fortran for scientific applications]
    ... infinity (e.g., divide a non-zero number by zero) and plus or minus ... fyi, Matlab supports NAN's, and it has Inf and -Inf ...
    (comp.lang.fortran)
  • Re: Forth PARANOIA
    ... A domain error may occur if x is zero and y ... If the second argument is NaN, ... and the second argument is negative infinity, ... argument is less than zero but not a finite odd integer, ...
    (comp.lang.forth)