.

Marcel Chelba Comment in Scientific American to the article: Dispute over Infinity Divides Mathematicians, by Natalie Wolchover and Quanta Magazine http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=infinity-logiclaw&page= Comment !" and !". #antinom$s %&:%' AM ()/"/(! *et $s disc$ss the problem in geometrical terms +little more int$iti,e-. *et.s say that /infinity/ is the point on the hori0on +from the edge of geometric plan-: the ,anishing point +in the laws of perspecti,e-. 1$estion that if /the infinity is something or nothing/ will as# then /where is the ,anishing point2 inside or o$tside of the geometric plane3. 4n 5$clidean geometry the ,anishing point is o$tside of the geometric plane2 can ne,er be reached +6infinity3 is /nothing/- and therefore parallel post$late remains intact. 5$clidean geometry is a 78C9 a consistent b$t incomplete system of a:ioms2 ;<del wo$ld say9 an orthodo:ical system2 we might say. 4n non-5$clidean geometries the ,anishing point is inside of the geometric plan +/infinity/ is /something/- and therefore parallel post$late is ,iolated. Conse=$ently2 in the territory of non-5$clidean geometries2 all points of the plan are act$ally

some /cardinal points/ +some poles of geometric space- to which con,erge an infinity of parallel lines +meridians li#e- or can be an infinity of parallels drawn to a gi,en line. >on-5$clidean geometries are some systems 78C? +78C e:tended-2 with 6infinity3 inside9 they are complete2 b$t not inconsistent9 they are /paraconsistent/ +in the terms of da Costa-2 /s$percompact/ +in the terms of @oellner- or 6parado:ical32 more plainly. 8rom the logical point of ,iew2 we are dealing with one and the same problem when we as# whether /the cardinal of a set/ is or not an /element/ in the set. Ailemma of mathematicians is identical to that of 7eno2 in the aporia /Achilles and the tortoise/2 and with the dilemma of @ant2 in the first cosmological antinomy +the =$estion whether the Borld is finite or infinite-. C$rtle wal#s in an $ni,erse 678C3 +flat2 linear2 >ewtonian2 with 6infinity3 o$tside-. C$rtle.s steps ha,e a constant metric9 she can go on fore,er2 beyond any obstacle. Achilles wal#s in an $ni,erse 678C?3 +relati,istic2 nonlinear2 5insteinian2 with 6infinity3 inside-. Che steps of Achilles ha,e a ,ariable metric. >$mber of steps to the edge of his $ni,erse is still infinite2 only that his $ni,erse is finite and o$tside there is nothing. *ogically2 these two $ni,erses are congr$ent2 Cantor co$ld say9 what differs is only the metric of o$r mo,ement within. Che mista#e is that we belie,e that C$rtle.s $ni,erse is greater2 and that we can meas$re Achilles. $ni,erse with C$rtle.s meter. Achilles. $ni,erse is contin$o$s +s$percompact-2 b$t closed D his 5dges are inside him. C$rtle.s $ni,erse is discrete +with holes-2 b$t open D his 5dges are o$tside him. Chat is why their cardinal is the same.

So in the first cosmological antinomy: the Borld is finite if its e:terior is /something/ +,anishing point is inside-2 and is infinite if its e:terior is /nothing/ +,anishing point is o$tside-. Che iss$e is not whether 78C can be e:tended with the a:iom /E = $ltimate *32 b$t that s$ch systems e:ist +they are mathematically possible-. >on-5$clidean geometries2 relati,istic mechanics and =$ant$m mechanics pro,e this. Chese two a:iomatic systems +orthodo:ical and parado:ical- are not act$ally competing. Chere is no =$estion of legitimacy or primacy of one o,er the other. Chey are act$ally two alternati,e matri:es of tho$ght. Che real problem is m$ch higher: namely2 what are their limits of application and what is the /ontological s$permatri:/ that enable and go,ern the relationship between them. Bell2 this /ontological s$permatri:/ is the parado:. Farado: is not a simple aporia of tho$ght2 b$t the ,ery /ontological switch/ +compass needle- that g$ide o$r minds to a paradigm of tho$ght or another +78C or 78C?-. Chis is why the parado: can neither be sol,ed nor destroyed +remo,ed from the landscape of o$r thin#ing-. Chis wo$ld be the third point of ,iew D the 6critical sol$tion3 in terms of @ant. Bhen was wal#ing on the street2 5instein calc$late its traGectory in the same inertial system of spatio-temporal coordinates as >ewton. 8or more details 4 recommend: http://www.scribd.com/doc/( '% (!/Marcel-Chelba-CheAntinomy-of-F$re-Heason-and-*ogical-Farado:es-@antinom$s

and +if yo$ find a translator- chapter /Cowards a new paradigm of science/ in: http://www.scribd.com/doc/(%%!I "(/Marcel-ChelbaCetralogia-#antian-Eol-4-4ntrod$cere-Critic-Aespre-posibilitateaMetafi0icii-ca-tiin-in-perspecti,a-filosofiei-critice-#ant