Spike Jones wrote
> Followed to its logical extreme, one concludes if the universe
> is closed, we have been here before, having this exact
> discussion. Furthermore we have been here an *infinite*
> number of times before. Still further, we will be here again,
> having this exact discussion and an unimaginably large number
> of similar but slightly different versions thereof. Thinking
> about it causes one to zone out.
Well, practice makes perfect! I think it probable that one can
get used to just about anything without necessarily jettisoning
an appreciation of its main characteristics, namely in this
case, immensity.
It's probably appropriate here to invoke mathematical isomorphism,
and contend that infinite repetitions, or one repetition, are the
same thing as no repetitions, at least when speaking of the *entire
universe*. More specifically, all of our usual feelings and
thoughts concerning repetition per se don't apply here, and so
it's very much the same thing as it happening only once.
Lee Corbin
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:59:45 MDT