more from this thinker | more from this text
Full Idea
Leibniz said the division of the continuum should not be conceived 'to be like the division of sand into grains, but like that of a tunic or a sheet of paper into folds'.
Gist of Idea
The continuum is not divided like sand, but folded like paper
Source
report of Gottfried Leibniz (works [1690], A VI iii 555) by Richard T.W. Arthur - Leibniz
Book Ref
Arthur, Richard T.W.: 'Leibniz' [Polity 2014], p.68
A Reaction
This from the man who invented calculus. This thought might apply well to the modern physicist's concept of a 'field'.
| 22930 | Lengths do not contain infinite parts; parts are created by acts of division [Aristotle, by Le Poidevin] |
| 18833 | A continuous line cannot be composed of indivisible points [Aristotle] |
| 19375 | The continuum is not divided like sand, but folded like paper [Leibniz, by Arthur,R] |
| 12457 | There is no continuum in reality to realise the infinitely small [Hilbert] |
| 8669 | Between any two rational numbers there is an infinite number of rational numbers [Friend] |
| 17941 | Infinitesimals were sometimes zero, and sometimes close to zero [Colyvan] |