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2+2=4 but what if 4 didn't exist?
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2023
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You’ve inadvertently hit on the beginnings of an apparent paradox to do with the relationship between numbers and the counting numbers
Suppose the largest number you can have is X and the smallest number you can have is -Y. Then between -Y and X, you can count X+Y numbers which is clearly larger than X. But X is the largest possible number so X+Y doesn’t exist.
Gotta stop you right there. A largest number doesn't and can't exist. If we introduce one, paradoxes arise all over the place and the whole system falls apart.