2017Oxford University Press eBooksRequires access

Infinity: A Very Short Introduction

Ian Stewart

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Abstract

Infinity has connections to philosophy, religion, and physics as well as mathematics. The infinitely large (infinite) is intimately related to the infinitely small (infinitesimal). Infinity: A Very Short Introduction explains the mathematical concept of infinity, its different forms, and its uses in calculus, Fourier analysis, and fractals, and also describes the philosophical aspects and debates involving infinity. It argues that working with infinity is not just an abstract, intellectual exercise, but that it is instead a concept with important practical everyday applications, and considers how mathematicians use infinity and infinitesimals to answer questions or supply techniques that do not appear to involve the infinite.

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What this paper is about

Infinity has connections to philosophy, religion, and physics as well as mathematics. The infinitely large (infinite) is intimately related to the infinitely small (infinitesimal). Infinity: A Very Short Introduction explains the mathematical concept of infinity, its different forms, and its uses in calculus, Fourier analysis, and fractals, and also describes the philosophical aspects and debates involving infinity. It argues that working with infinity is not just an abstract, intellectual exercise, but that it is instead a concept with important practical everyday applications, and considers how mathematicians use infinity and infinitesimals to answer questions or supply techniques that do not appear to involve the infinite.

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OpenAlex reports 8 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

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Available abstract

Infinity has connections to philosophy, religion, and physics as well as mathematics. The infinitely large (infinite) is intimately related to the infinitely small (infinitesimal). Infinity: A Very Short Introduction explains the mathematical concept of infinity, its different forms, and its uses in calculus, Fourier analysis, and fractals, and also describes the philosophical aspects and debates involving infinity. It argues that working with infinity is not just an abstract, intellectual exercise, but that it is instead a concept with important practical everyday applications, and considers how mathematicians use infinity and infinitesimals to answer questions or supply techniques that do not appear to involve the infinite.

Key concepts: Infinity, Infinitesimal, Calculus (dental), Mathematics, Pure mathematics, Mathematical analysis, Dentistry, Medicine

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