Shapes of Potential Universes/'The Infinite Book'

re: Barrow's 2005 book 'The Infinite Book'

The nature of infinity as an idea has evolved over human intellectual history. Infinity is an idea useful in mathematical, philosophical, theological and actual inquiries into the construction of the Universe, and there are many different contexts in which it might be considered.

It is difficult to regard the topic of infinity and not mention the late 19th century mathematician Georg Cantor who did so much to make infinity a useful mathematical concept. In developing mathematical formalism that expressed infinity, varieties of types of infinities and how they relate to other kinds of infinities Cantor suffered much socially yet left lasting methods of classifying some of its forms.

Cosmology including study on potential shapes of the universe, of its limits as finite or infinite, of its many possible shapes and of the curvature of space, of our Universe as one inflated bubble of many-these sorts of things are integral with the topic of infinity and kinds of infinity.

Barrow goes over many of the researches of philosophers, scientists and theologians past and present that presented and developed concepts of infinity and cosmology. The book is a usefull addition to popular cosmology. Barrow is a mathematical astrophysicist and a fine popular philosopher of cosmology.

He wrote that the WMAP Wilkerson Digital Sky Survey of the microwave background provided a little evidence that some vibration-wavelengths from the early universe appear to have been cancelled out. I believe he mentioned that it is supportive of what could occur if the universe is of finite size yet unbounded as might be a cylinder or sphere or other finite space. The idea is that some of the returning waves would cancel out.

Space-time could still expand of course yet remain finite. Perhaps early black holes that slowed down the Universe after inflation evaporated over time such that without that drag the universe resumed expansion for some time. The cosmological constant isn't likely to be a perpetual motion force never running down.

With so many-perhaps an infinite number of potential if not actual configurations for the Universe to exist in beyond and transcending the edge of the visible Universe it is good to have some added ideas about infinity, of its nature and forms, and the ideas of others over history that have contemplated its potential and actual forms.

Does infinite nothingness exist beyond space-time? Is there a finite amount of mass in the universe and is the space in which it exists infinite? There are more than 1001 formulations and relationship configurations of matter, nothingness, space in regard to quantity and its logical relation to existence. Georg Cantor wrote about trans-finite sets of ever increasing infinities in math. Even with such concepts we run ashore like St. Augustine upon the conceptual nature of God transcending pluralism, time and dimension. An examination of infinities helps one appreciate that.