
Infinity is more complex than you think
Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images
A new type of infinity appears to break the rules of how incredibly large numbers behave, and could redraw the way the mathematical universe is ordered.
It can be a surprise, though mathematicians have long known that there is more than one type of infinity. In 1878, Gregor Cantor first showed that the infinite set of real numbers, including negatives and decimals, is actually larger than the infinite set of natural or whole numbers. Proving this involves a rigorous comparison between the two setsrather…