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Infinity is bigger than you think - Numberphile

Numberphile · explainer · Watch on YouTube

Recreational & visual mathLogic & formal methods

What it is

Numberphile's James Grime explains Cantor's result that some infinities are bigger than others, including why the reals outnumber the integers. It is a short, accessible introduction to countable and uncountable infinity.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN people recommend it as a clear introduction to different sizes of infinity that non-mathematicians can follow.

  • 3 people recommended it
  • 4 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2014, last 2022

What HN commenters said

  1. “I really appreciate the way he presents mathematical concepts.”

    Gave students a sense of wonder about higher-level math.

    japhyr, 2014-12 · Strong recommendation · in “Almost all numbers contain the digit “3” [video]”

  2. “Numberphile did a pretty good introductory video to this if you want to learn more”

    Introductory explanation of why reals outnumber integers.

    cyphar, 2018-06 · Recommendation · in “Are real numbers really real?”

  3. “Here's a video explaining it little better [2].”

    Clearer explanation of the proof background.

    twelfthnight, 2021-07 · Recommendation · in “How many real numbers exist? New proof moves closer to an answer”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: cantor, uncountable infinity, diagonal argument, numberphile, mathematics

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