Math Investigation eTwinning. Mission: Infinity...Affairs! Volume: Infinity | Page 5

Introduction

Infinity is without doubt one of the hardest mathematical
concepts to understand. Many ideas that we find intuitive
when working with normal numbers don’t work anymore,
and instead there are countless apparent paradoxes. Is
there a largest number? Is there anything bigger than
infinity? What is infinity plus one? What is infinity plus
infinity?
The symbol for infinity is ∞, a horizontal 8. It was
invented by John Wallis (1616–1703) who could have
derived it from the Roman numeral M for 1000. But one
thing we know for certain: infinity is a lot bigger than
1000.

David Hilbert (1862–1943)

The German mathematician David Hilbert (1862–1943) tried to explain some of the properties of
infinity using a hotel with infinitely many rooms. Hilbert is also well-known for presenting a list of
23 mathematical problems which he considered the most important ones at the start of the 20th
century. Some of these problems, like the Riemann Hypothesis, are still unsolved.

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LYKEIO SCHIMATARIOY, GREECE

- VALLAURI FOSSANO, ITALY

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