Lines and Cats

I was thinking tonight (once more while brushing my teeth) about lines. In school they taught me most insistently that lines go on forever in both directions. Rays go on forever in one direction. And no one is sure whether half of infinity is shorter (or longer for that matter) than infinity itself. Here's my problem; I have never believed the universe to be infinite, so if the line goes on infinitely, it extends past the universe, which is nonsense. Recent physics theories have speculated that a Bible-based view of the universe would indicate a limited universe, so at least I'm not the only one thinking these things.

My dilema brings a question, then. Why do textbooks so insist that lines are infinite? What purpose does it serve to postulate that? Lines are unobservable in infinity. I just was wondering if any of my readers had an explanation for the importance of this "fact" in mathematics.

After thinking and after flossing, I came to our basement to find our family cat, Shadow, pressed against the metal gate of the pet carrier (a dog-sized one) in which we keep her at night. I heard a clink of the gate against the latch. The explanation for her panicked attempt at escape? We just installed what you call a littermaid, which automatically sifts her litter when it senses she is not present. Our beloved feline is terrified of even the sight of vacuums, so you can understand why she is afraid when this machine sharing her cage begins its noisy business. I hope she adjusts. Even after the machine had stopped, she just stared at it, as if standing guard.

My battery is about to die. That's what's happening at Longbourn for the evening.

To God be all glory.