by G E Barr

Created on: January 27, 2009

THE BIG IMAGE

When envisioning the planet, as though I am very far away from it, and I only perceive the roundness, the distant blueness, I do not think "infinity". Nor do I think infinity when I look at its symbol, which is a horizontal "8". No, when I visualize infinity, it is a Never Ending which my mind cannot hold, but which I can see in its parts and should I pursue it, I'd not reach its end for all of my life and those to come. Nor can it be seen in history in its entirety, as in what came before the point that I visualize. And while there is a certain amount of repitition which I seek in my eccentricity, were I to experience the repitition of a note of music for infinity, I would go quite mad. My mind is wired for moments and pieces of infinity, not its entirety. Still yet, I understand what infinity is.

I visualize infinity when I stand on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere and looking to my east, then to my west. The line itself not ending.

I think of infinity as a dirt road which never ends and wherever I stand, is the point of east from west and the two are always one, until I stand on that dirt road. East and West being definitive descriptions important only to the human experience to make sense of direction, but void of meaning to infinity itself. The definition of said infinity only meaningful to me as I experience it individually, not definable for another.

"Point" is very important in terms of infinity because it helps the human mind to conjure its image. A point being merely a dot on a line. Or a reference of where you were on that line at the time, say that you celebrated your 29th birthday. Segments of infinity identifiable by two points. One each at an east and west position.

In other words, I do not think of infinity as only that which I can see and just because I cannot physically see infinity empirically, I can see signs of it, therefore I understand what it is, vaguely.

In my ignorance of mathematics, I understand infinity in very basic terms of geometry and it is a philosophically incomplete understanding. It is like this, I know that 3 plus 4 equals 7, but I do not have to stop and do the math when I buy 7 tomatoes. Only do I need to understand the cost, which is a moral concern...a bisecting line, if you will of the experience. So that I buy 7 tomatoes without a deeply philosophically thought, lest I be in the grocery store for infinity, which of course is impossible. Thus common sense, or a point.

In other words, I could not go on forever about this subject.

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