To infinity, and beyond!
Philosophy professor Scott Weinstein lectured at the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity last night about the mathematical concept of infinity.
SAM president and College junior Charlie Isaacs and academic chairman and Engineering sophomore Andrew Hicks hosted Weinstein as part of their chapter's initiative to bring in various faculty speakers over the course of the year.
Weinstein, a faculty member for over three decades, began by giving classic arguments from the late 19th century. Utilizing the white board and a red marker, Weinstein explained Galileo's Paradox and other theories about infinity.
He continued by proving the distinction between rational and irrational numbers. Using this proof, he showed how such irrational numbers cannot be counted between two points.
The professor concluded with the statement that Cantor's continuum, a concept about sets of numbers, cannot be proven or disproven. He wrote in large letters that "Nobody Knows" whether or not this hypothesis is true.
"It is not what we know but what we don't know that helps us reach our understanding," said Isaacs.
During a question-and-answer session that followed the presentation, Weinstein was asked about the mathematical relation to time. He responded that mathematics corresponds perfectly to physics, but he hesitated in making a direct correlation to time.
Isaacs said the SAM fraternity chose to bring Weinstein as a guest speaker because of his expertise in a topic in which many students are not well-versed.
"We could have easily gotten someone from another department to lecture on more concrete subjects, but we wanted to provide an intellectually stimulating environment," he said.
He added that most of the brothers have heavy course loads and that this was a great way to enlighten members about an unfamiliar topic, without the extra burden of work that accompanies classes in such a field.
Isaacs argued that topics are "more engaging if they are less concrete" and felt that such a discrete topic was stimulating for discussion.
