Discovering Infinity
"Infinity" has intrigued poets, artists, philosophers, musicians, religious thinkers, physicists, astronomers, and mathematicians throughout the ages. Beginning with puzzles and paradoxes that show the need for careful definition and rigorous thinking, we will examine the idea of infinity within mathematics, discovering and presenting our own theorems and proofs about the infinite. Our central focus will be the evolution of the mathematician’s approach to infinity, for it is here that the concept has its deepest roots and where our greatest understanding lies. In the final portion of the course, we will consider representation of the infinite in literature and the arts. (Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1229). 3 hrs. lect.