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RE: Why the universe is most likely not infinite – Part 5: Popular argument against infinity
I don't think I'm going to watch it. But thanks for the recommendation.
Given that there will be an infinite number of present times, then it is logically conceivable that an infinite amount of time has elapsed for each one of them.
I think this does not solve the problem, but multiplies it. As I see it, an infinite time can never end, precisely because if it ends it would have an end, i.e., it would not be infinite.
If we were to accept, just by imagination, that infinite time could elapse, then we could go back to the past, elapse infinite time, and arrive at the "beginning" of the universe. Does that make sense? Just as infinite time could elapse into the present, we could also do the opposite and travel into the past.
But then again, the infinite is that which has no end, and I don't see how anything infinite could end.
Thanks for your attention. I will take the video into consideration.
Cheers!
We're never going to reach the end of the beginning of the infinite time. It's just a concept, just like the sum of infinites or a Zenonian progression, that's why I said it is logically conceivable. To resolve that paradox, for example, you need to take into account that the size of the set of infinite present times is also infinite, it's just that today can't be the last moment, there are infinite present times. This makes more sense in the context of the tenseless theory of time, where there's no difference between the past, present and future. This issue is more complicated than it looks and the paradox you're raising is well known. Bear in mind that a finite time also creates counter-intuitive situations. For example, what was there before the beginning?
Sure, I'm glad you're interested in the topic. If you want to hear it from leading physicists and philosophers instead of me, then you should watch it.
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