Course Information
- Time: MWF 10:20 - 11:1 5
- Location: Art/Comm 111
- Instructor: Prof. Stucki
-
Infinity is one of those words that everyone knows and uses, but what does it really mean?
Was Buzz just talking nonsense when he said “To infinity and beyond!” or is it actually possible?
Puzzles and challenges surrounding infinity have intrigued the greatest thinkers at least as
far back as the ancient Greeks, leading to significant contributions to philosophy, theology,
and mathematics.
Both its ability to work at an intuitive level to evoke powerful (metaphorical) imagery and
its inherent references beyond what we can reach lend it a sense of mystery.
This course will trace the historical development of infinity. Understanding that mathematics
was not always a separated discipline, but that it emerged from people’s efforts to understand
the world around them, and that their other ways of understanding also shaped their mathematics,
will be an integral part of the course. We will also spend time exploring the 20th century
revolutions in understanding the nature of the infinite in logic and mathematics as a result
of the work of Georg Cantor, and how that impacted the world.