Infinity, reality and other mathematical problems

If you have two objects, and know everything about them individually, then it seems intuitive that you know everything about the pair. However, one of the most profound discoveries of the last century is that our world is not like this. Instead, the laws of quantum physics allow different objects to become ‘entangled’, such that their properties are intrinsically correlated, and a complete description of them can only be provided collectively. In this talk, I will briefly describe this phenomenon, and present a simple game which provides the evidence for this radical claim.

In my talk, I will give an overview of infinity’s journey through some of the most prominent disciplines. Our concept of infinity originates in Greek philosophy, and it played a role in Greek mathematics. In the middle ages, it became intertwined with discussions about God. In the 17th century, infinity became important in physics. And since the language of the new physical theories was mathematics, infinity connected with mathematics in a new way. In the nineteenth century, the mathematics of infinity took flight in Cantor’s theory, which lies at the basis of our contemporary understanding.