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Tertium Organum by P D Ouspensky
Tertium Organum by P D Ouspensky
. This magnitude
is an infinite number of times greater than a simple infinity. And at the same time they
are equal =
and
.
Let us take a line, any segment of a line. We know that the number of points in this
line is equal to infinity, because a point has no dimensions. If our segment equals an
inch, and side by side with it we imagine a segment which equals a mile, then each
point in the small segment will have a corresponding point in the large segment. The
number of points in the segment an inch long is infinite. The number of points in a mile
is also infinite. The result is = .
Now let us imagine a square of which the given line a constitutes one side.
The number of lines in a square is infinite. The number of points in every line
is infinite. Consequently the number of points in a square equals infinity
multiplied by itself an infinite number of times
. This magnitude is
undoubtedly infinitely greater than the first . And at the same time they are
equal, as all infinite magnitudes are equal, because if there is infinity, it is one
and it cannot change.
On the square a
2
which we have obtained, let us construct a cube. This
cube consists of an infinite number of squares, just as the square consists of
an infinite number of lines, and the line - of an infinite number of points.
Consequently the number of points in the cube a
3
equals
. This expression
is equal to the expressions