to not care about the structure of the universe?

[SethStarkaddersMum]

DH thinks I am being parochial and anthropocentric.
I think I have got more pressing things to worry about, like how to get more vegetables into DS1 and make DD do her reading and when DS2 is going to let me get some sleep.

AIBU to not care how many dimensions it exists in or what sort of stars are out there or any of that crap?

mind you if he could tell jokes while he's at it and leave out the maths, I think I could cope

Somewhere, in another universe amongst infinite universes is another MN with another bunch of people just like us coming up with a whole different set of comments.

Now how can that not be interesting?

The whole bendy stretchy timey wimey thing, as Dr Who puts it, is utterly bizarre and fascinating.

aaargh, so in another universe IABVVVVVU.

So you want Maffs? Interesting Maffs?

Do you know about the Hilbert's Hotel paradox?

What the name of the largest number is and what it has in common with a biscuit?

How you can have a list with half the digits in of another list and yet they are both the same length?

Love Maffs, me.

Grahams number.

In this parallel universe... do I care about the existence of a parallel universe?

Or does this post constitute my caring about the parallel universe? In which case, in the parallel universe, have I just lost interest?

Lowenergy - surely the only possible response is 'Don't worry darling, I'm sure they'll find some Higgs Bosons soon.'

Lowenergy, you is well clever.
Who knows what the first digit of Graham's number is then? Hands up?

tethersend, you could be on a beach with a fit bloke having your toes sucked in a parallel universe.

I know I am.

YANBU not to care (although I am not sure why your DP is bothered by that) - we all have different interests.

But YABU to say it doesn't matter. It's part of our humanity, being curious, and anyway you just never know what might prove to be useful in everyday life. We don't know what we don't know.

So, Boffin, what's the hotel thing then?

Presumably your dh has time to marvel and expand his mind because he does not fill his head space with the day-to-day trivia that you have to, with 3 under 5.

I can understand why you are not interested in the ins-and-outs, although I don't think it should be considered normal or acceptable not to have a passing interest in the universe and other things outside the domestic sphere.

I have met far too many shallow people (not saying you are OP, as you probably have other interests) to want to indulge anybody's ignorance.

Lowenergy, surely the answer is "Well, if they had only put the Higgs bosons away in the right place the last time they finished playing with them then they'd be able to find them now, wouldn't they?" [pursing lips]

Not at all. If you're interested then fair enough but it doesn't matter, does it? Whether you know the structure of the universe or not makes bog all difference to your day to day life.

yes go on, tell us what is this Hilbert's hotel paradox?

sharpen your pencil now seth

oh to be in the parallel universe where ds2 sleeps and ds1 eats vegetables and dd does her reading!

come on now, I'm going to try this one out on dh.

rofl Mollymawk!
If they don't find them it won't convince me they're not there, just that they hadn't looked properly.

YANBU. As long as you're not one of those types who can't see past the ends of their noses and thinks that spending money on anything more ephemeral than schools and hospitals is a waste of public funds.

I don't agree with you, however - I find it fascinating myself. Not that I have time for more than a passing interest these days. DS (3) is already interested in the planets etc. and we are encouraging it. We hope to get a telescope so he and DH can bond under the night sky.

Is the HIlbert's hotel one A level maths?

OK right. Imagine you've got a hotel with an infinite number of rooms, but the rooms are all full. What do you do?? Yikes!!

The answer is to get every person to move one room along, so the person in room 1 moves to room 2, and so on. You have freed up a room! This is basically a demonstration of infinity plus 1 and the paradox that just when you thought you had pinned infinity down, it could still get even bigger.

Now tell me that doesn't blow your mind ...

Oh I dunno a bit of theoretical physics, and looking beyond the school run and meal planner, can give you a bit of perspective.

I'm working on it boffin

In a parallel universe, this is a witty, insightful and mind-blowing post.

Oooh, my dad was going on about this the other day (I didn't know it was called the Hilbert's hotel). My dad knows nothing about maths by the way but in the manner of dads everywhere he has a theory. His theory is that if there are an infinite number of rooms that are all full then there must be an infinite number of people in it, so you'd be in one of the rooms already. Ta-daaah. No more paradox.