Thinking about what it means for anything to be infinite has proven to be difficult, obviously. If you illustrate your thinking with human analogies, God, Time, Space, Cells, grass, sand, etc, you will most likely come to see it as not possible to prove either, or, as become more confused. The quote Professor Hamman posted, "The Infinite! No other question has ever moved so profoundly the spirit of man" very much asserts this. I think that the topic of infinity inevitably raises spiritual and philosophical discussion. Where this may not be good enough for mathematicians because math solves problems and is governed by laws, infinity is above and beyond laws, and to "solve" or figure it out is almost foolish and will become an infinite project in itself!
I asked my father casually the other day, "What do you think of infinity?" He answered simply and calmly, "Eternal now." I was shocked and moved, and was satisfied with his answer.
Basically, what hearing that did for me was remind me to stop thinking about infinity, or, to stop mental chatter all together and just be present to my experience in the moment. This is very much the awakening and enlightened realization that many spiritual traditions such as Buddhism and Daoism speak of. It doesn't surprise me that my father would say that, coming from a traditional Buddhist upbringing. It also reminded me of Jessica's tattoo which had a clock with wings and in the middle of the clock it says, "NOW." Very cool, Jessica! I think the whole concept, perception, or reality of infinity is asking us to be present and accept what is happening NOW, and it does that by not allowing us to ever really know. I think that scientists who go mad ultimately surrender and accept that infinity is called infinity for a reason! But, maybe I'm wrong.
Yumiko,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I have to compliment your father for making such a profound statement off the cuff! I am a mother of three and am pretty sure I would have said "Infinity....infinity....are you kidding me.....go brush your teeth!!" So my hat is off to him. I agree with your post. I too think infinity could possibly be measurable but it's so far beyond our scope and comprehension that it's pointless to try and capture. You miss the "NOW" if you try and do that. It's important to stay present. Who knew infinity would strike so many different chords? Interesting indeed.
I don't understand the way your father said though. I know what "eternal" and "now" mean, but what does it mean when they're together?
ReplyDeleteIf you are very spiritual you may think about infinity the way you believe it to be in the spiritual sense. Eternal is mostly likely to be something beyond our scope and "God" in Christian understanding does things beyond our human idea. Eternal is also something which lives forever and ever. Buddhist also views it the same way so your father made a good example.
ReplyDeleteScientist or Mathematician may also have the same concept but mostly in the mathematical way. Infinity comparatively doesn't end and in my point of view live on and on. When you look at the infinity sign on our sheet very carefully, the lines which cross around it just go round without any specific end. It's very difficult to decide on a specific example for infinity because I have been thinking about it throughout the week. There are many things to relate it to but I still don’t know what might be the right one. Let’s wait and see!
i'm glad you like my tattoo! lol it's always a good conversation starter with strangers. i love your father's answer! one of my struggles is that my mind is either reminiscing on what once was or in the future trying to comprehend what will be. Living in the now is the hardest thing to do. One thought that has stirred in my mind from reading your post is that regardless of where your thoughts are (past or future) your physical existence lies in the now along with with your thoughts. Like i can think about eating chocolate cake in 5 min, but the thought originated right now. So anyones thoughts are in the "eternal now" because to be present is to exist. It is right now that I am living, breathing, and blogging. When you discover that i've posted this will be in your "now" time. So there are not only an infinite amount of "truths" to obtain in the "now," but If we (humans) go out of existence, the "now" will always exist for something or someone that outlives us. I'm having a hard time explaining what i mean. I hope someone gets something out of what I said.
ReplyDeleteMai Dinh, hopefully the last two responses helped answer your question. As Yaa pointed out, eternal in the religious context refers to salvation or eternal life, a huge motivator for religious believers, but what my dad meant by it was more so what Jessica pointed out, which she explained really well. Living in the moment of NOW, whatever thought, feeling or action comes up will be replaced by the next "now" moment and keep going on and on and on. And basically, don't worry about the future or the past but rather on what is happening NOW. :)
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