Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

To infinity and beyond? I don't think beyond is feasible

Sarah Schnellbacher's picture

On Thursday in our discussion group we talked about the idea of the Library of Babel. Most of the group seemed to hate the idea that they couldn't be creative because every possibility already exists. I don't have a problem with this notion. Should I find myself a failure because I can not defy the laws of physics? Of course not. The Library of Babel analogy is saying that given laws of the universe, here are the infinite options available. Why should I want to go beyond infinity when my life is so short and there is plenty we need to discover before our world becomes boring?

 

Comments

cwalker's picture

Infinity isn't limiting

We sit on the same boat. Infinity is a lot, why does it seem that people aren’t satisfied with this? Does it come from our absurd version of capitalism, and consumer options? Anyway that is a whole different topic. I am completely content, and well actually completely overwhelmed by the idea of a simple infinity (if there is such a thing), such as the Library of Babel, were all the possibilities exist. There are many options what counts are not how many options there are but how we connect them together, how and why we unite these options. Like a painter, there are only so many colors, no matter how much we try to make a new one, it already exists, therefore the artists is making the best out of the options he/she is given. There is no need to go beyond infinity we already have more than we can handle on our plate, we have more than enough infinity in our hands to last us for well, infinity. To be honest it kind of reminds me of a little kid wanting to open a new bag of candy when they have hardly even touched the first one. Why don’t we just stick to the infinity we have now, it is way more than we can handle, let’s not get too greedy, life is short.

 

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.
7 + 6 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.