Numbers existed before people on this rock began to understand them. If not number of atoms in the universe, then the number of cells in organisms one day prior to 10,000 years ago. or anything really, that had the potential to be counted, one day prior to 10,000 years ago.
If all numbers are invented, then there is a largest number ever conceived by a human, which we're a long way from but will be there still. I know this isn't a proof, but there being a largest number strikes me as wrong. If my assumption that there is no largest number is correct, then numbers are not invented. Brent Meeker: But there weren't an infinite number of atoms (or anything else). The existence of infinite sets certainly is an assumption. If you were to form a list of numbers relevant to this discussion, that list either has the potential to stop one day, or the list will never be complete. The first case is equivalent to numbers being invented; the second case is equivalent to numbers being not invented (ie, discovered). My assumption is that there is no largest number. That entails that numbers are not invented as argued above. Thus, the list will never be complete and so my assumption implies that infinite sets exist, if only infinite set of numbers. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To post to this group, send email to everything-l...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to everything-list+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list?hl=en.
