No single person "found" infinity. The concept of infinity has evolved over centuries, developing from philosophical inquiries to a rigorously defined mathematical concept.
Early Understandings of Infinity
Ancient Greek philosophers, like Zeno of Elia (~450 BC), grappled with the paradoxical nature of infinity, exploring its "physical" impossibility through his famous paradoxes. These paradoxes, while not defining infinity, highlighted its intriguing and counterintuitive properties.
Mathematical Formalization
The modern mathematical understanding of infinity largely stems from the work of Georg Cantor in the late 19th century. Cantor's revolutionary work involved studying infinite sets and infinite numbers, demonstrating their mathematical properties and establishing a framework for working with infinity within mathematics. He showed that there are different "sizes" of infinity.
The Infinity Symbol
While the concept predates its symbolization, the common symbol for infinity, ∞, was introduced by the English mathematician John Wallis in 1655. This symbol helped to solidify the representation of this concept.
Srinivasa Ramanujan's Contributions
Srinivasa Ramanujan (1887-1920), a brilliant Indian mathematician, made significant contributions to various areas of mathematics, including those involving infinite series and other concepts related to infinity. His work expanded the ways mathematicians worked with and understood infinity.
Therefore, attributing the "discovery" of infinity to a single individual is inaccurate. Its understanding has been a collective, ongoing endeavor spanning millennia, with key contributions from numerous thinkers and mathematicians.
