相关论文: The Meaning of Infinity
The concept of measurement is discussed. It is argued that counting process in mathematics is also measurement which requires a basic unit. The idea of scale is put forward. The basic unit itself, which are composed of the infinitesimal of…
A new definition of a real number is that it is a rule which says Yes or No based on whether the real number ought to be in a given rational interval. This is a teaser paper for formalizing, exploring, and generalizing this definition. The…
We contribute to the lively debate in current scholarship on the Leibnizian calculus. In a recent text, Arthur and Rabouin argue that non-Archimedean continua are incompatible with Leibniz's concepts of number, quantity and magnitude. They…
We study the possible structures which can be carried by sets which have no countable subset, but which fail to be `surjectively Dedekind finite', in two possible senses, that there is a surjection to $\omega$, or alternatively, that there…
For first-order expansions of the field of real numbers, nondefinability of the set of natural numbers is equivalent to equality of topological and Assouad dimension on images of closed definable sets under definable continuous maps.
Treating divergent series properly has been an ongoing issue in mathematics. However, many of the problems in divergent series stem from the fact that divergent series were discovered prior to having a number system which could handle them.…
We start by presenting a theory of finite sets using the approach which is essentially that taken by Whitehead and Russell in Principia Mathematica}, and which does not involve the natural numbers (or any other infinite set). This theory is…
A perfect number is a number whose divisors add up to twice the number itself. The existence of odd perfect numbers is a millennia-old unsolved problem. This note proposes a proof of the nonexistence of odd perfect numbers. More generally,…
We discuss views about whether the universe can be rationally comprehended, starting with Plato, then Leibniz, and then the views of some distinguished scientists of the previous century. Based on this, we defend the thesis that…
In this paper I propose a new principle in physics: the principle of "finiteness". It stems from the definition of physics as a science that deals (among other things) with measurable dimensional physical quantities. Since measurement…
We can measure the complexity of a logical formula by counting the number of alternations between existential and universal quantifiers. Suppose that an elementary first-order formula $\varphi$ (in $\mathcal{L}_{\omega,\omega}$) is…
Attempts to quantize light in a manifestly Lorentz covariant manner fail because of the indefinite metric problem. Here an error in the interpretation is uncovered that is at the root of this problem.
Quantum theory is a tremendously successful physical theory, but nevertheless suffers from two serious problems: the measurement problem and the problem of interpretational underdetermination. The latter, however, is largely overlooked as a…
The main purpose of this paper is to prove that the positive real numbers can be decomposed into finitely many disjoint pieces which are also closed under addition and multiplication. As a byproduct of the argument we determine all the…
A generalization of the definition of a one-dimensional improper integral with a finite limit is presented. The new definition extends the range of valid integrals to include integrals which were previously considered to not be integrable.…
When a proposition has no proof in an inference system, it is sometimes useful to build a counter-proof explaining, step by step, the reason of this non-provability. In general, this counter-proof is a (possibly) infinite co-inductive proof…
Discussions on indeterminism in physics focus on the possibility of an open future, i.e. the possibility of having potential alternative future events, the realisation of one of which is not fully determined by the present state of affairs.…
This paper deals with (finite or infinite) sequences of arbitrary independent events in some probability space. We find sharp lower bounds for the probability of a union of such events when the sum of their probabilities is given. The…
It is shown that a notion of natural place is possible within modern physics. For Aristotle, the elements$-$the primary components of the world$-$follow to their natural places in the absence of forces. On the other hand, in general…
In a game of incomplete information, an infinite state space can create problems. When the space is uncountably large, the strategy spaces of the players may be unwieldly, resulting in a lack of measurable equilibria. When the knowledge of…