Re:Is infinity an odd or even number? (2011)
by catiopatio on Wednesday May 03, 2023 @03:55PM
(#35806918)
I don’t have one that doesn’t admit a contradiction here … which I’d argue is because comparing the size of an infinite set is nonsensical, even if the properties used to do so are otherwise useful.
Similarly, I can also work around Russel’s paradox by introducing infinite universes, but that doesn’t actually resolve the paradox, it just provides a set (ha ha) of rules that may be leveraged to formalize the Set category and otherwise prove useful things.
Just because your formalization admits a proof by contradiction doesn’t actually prove two infinite sets have different sizes, it just proves that a contradiction exists under your assumptions.
Re:Is infinity an odd or even number? (2011)
by ironSkillet on Wednesday May 03, 2023 @06:19PM
(#35808570)
If you aren't allowed to operate in a logical system with a concrete definition of "size", then you can't say things like "doesn't actually prove two infinite sets have different sizes". So the whole debate is moot.
Re:Is infinity an odd or even number? (2011)
by catiopatio on Wednesday May 03, 2023 @07:18PM
(#35809156)
> So the whole debate is moot.
Well, yes. :)
Re:Is infinity an odd or even number? (2011)
by ironSkillet on Wednesday May 03, 2023 @08:04PM
(#35809555)
Thanks for wasting my time by avoiding any precision in your language lol.
What's your precise definition of size that allows someone to actually make a rigorous argument comparing the size of any two sets?