About this episode
This episode explores the philosophy of ultrafinitism and the implications of rejecting the concept of infinity in mathematics.
Most mathematicians take the notion of infinity for granted — it’s deeply rooted in math’s most fundamental assumptions. But a small group of researchers hopes to banish infinity completely. On this episode of The Quanta Podcast, host Samir Patel speaks with math editor Jordana Cepelewicz about the philosophy of ultrafinitism. This topic was covered in a recent story for Quanta Magazine. Each week on The Quanta Podcast, Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel speaks with the people behind the award-winning publication to navigate through some of the most important and mind-expanding questions in science and math. Audio coda music & lyrics by Michael Tilson Thomas . Vocals performed by Ben Jones. Piano performed by John Wilson.
People in this episode
Host: Samir Patel
Guest: Jordana Cepelewicz
Topics covered
- infinity
- ultrafinitism
- mathematics
- philosophy
- science
Keywords
- infinity
- ultrafinitism
- mathematics
- philosophy
- Quanta Magazine
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Quanta Magazine
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