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Imagine a line that stretches out in both directions so far out that there is no sign of a beginning nor an end. No matter how far back or how far forward you travel along it, there is always more line in both directions. This is the concept referred to as “infinity”, the idea of something that can be so large it extends beyond any limits, thus, no beginning and no end.

I believe we all once met a hero, one draped in white and green. He has a suit which boasts of flashy buttons, and from his back springs a pair of wings ready to carry him beyond the bounds of the playground. Most know him as Buzz Lightyear, to Andy, he is the coolest space ranger, but to him, he is Andy’s friend. As he stretches his plastic arms towards his plastic head, he boldly declares, “To infinity…and beyond!”

To Buzz, infinity is a representation of an endless journey full of possibilities and new adventures to explore the beyond, pushing him past his limits. Buzz’s infinity is the same as the infinity presented in mathematics, as long as we are referring to it as a concept of no beginning nor end.

This picture might not quite be infinity; however, it can still be a representation of the basic concept. The picture showcases a view of mountains that stretches far beyond our view. At simple sight, one would not have the ability to identify an end, and much less a start, to this stretch of land, which might be represented as a kind of infinity.

Infinity is a concept that represents something being endless or limitless—whether it is a sequence of numbers that goes on forever or the expansion of the universe itself. In mathematics, we encounter infinity through topics such as sequences and series explaining how we can approach infinite sums and limits. This concept helps develop wonder and curiosity across various fields.

I first encountered the idea of infinity in middle or high school during a math lesson that explored never-ending numbers, such as π, and the fascinating concept of the infinite. I was both intrigued and interested; something being so vast and limitless was exciting yet complex to grasp. This early experience opened my imagination and led me to wonder what is beyond that which we can quantify. To represent infinity, I chose a spiral staircase. A spiral staircase symbolizes the concept of infinity because an infinite circular staircase is ongoing and limitless like the concept of infinity. Infinity cannot be specifically quantified. Infinity also represents the boundless potential of exploration and discovery.

Infinity is also an important concept in my religion, because it symbolizes the boundless nature of creation and the mysteries beyond human perception. God existed before anything else and created everything from nothing, relates to infinity. Similarly, the universe continuously expands, illustrates the vastness of the universe. In both mathematics and spirituality, infinity signifies something beyond human comprehension, expressing awe and humility. It serves as a reminder of how much remains unknown, inspiring wonder about the mysteries that are beyond and encouraging us to explore the infinite and to feel inspired by it.

What is infinity? Explain in your own words.
Infinity is the idea of something that has no ending or limit. The best way to picture it is to think of a number line that goes in both directions forever, or just go to desmos graphing calculator to put in an expression and continuously zoom out. In math, it’s used to stand in for a really big number. When divided by it the answer would be so small that it is just equal to zero.

Is infinity an important idea in your religion? Do you think that infinity in a religious setting refers to the same idea as infinity in mathematics? Why or why not?
In my religion infinity is used as an adjective to describe a quality God has. That quality would be how God isn’t bound by limitations humans have. Although infinity in math is also used to describe something with no limit, it isn’t used the same way. The reason is because its applications have rules and can give quantitative answers. For example, to show how a line acts on a graph between the interval of point a to point b. Either point can start far left of zero and go to a point far right of zero on a number line, which could be described as (-∞,0] U [0,∞).

This photo is meant to show what the line on y = 4 on a number line looks like if it keeps going in both directions. The infinity symbols on the x-axis mean that the line won’t stop at any point no matter how big the number gets, so it will just go on forever on that graph. As I said earlier, its better visualized by going to desmos graphing calculator to put in an expression and continuously zooming out.