--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I protest against the use of infinite…" description: "\"I protest against the use of infinite magnitude ..., which is never permissible in mathematics.\" — Carl Friedrich Gauss" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/carl-friedrich-gauss-9412_infinite_i-protest-against-the-use-of-infinite-ma_358001.png" --- # I protest against the use of infinite magnitude ..., which… ![“I protest against the use of infinite magnitude ..., which is never permissible in mathematics.” quote by Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/carl-friedrich-gauss-9412_infinite_i-protest-against-the-use-of-infinite-ma_358001.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/carl-friedrich-gauss-9412_infinite_i-protest-against-the-use-of-infinite-ma_358001.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/carl-friedrich-gauss-9412_infinite_i-protest-against-the-use-of-infinite-ma_358001.png) > “I protest against the use of infinite magnitude ..., which is never permissible in mathematics.” [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Infinite magnitudes are mathematically invalid; they cannot be used in rigorous proofs. **In simple terms:** Infinity cannot be treated as a number. Key Takeaway Avoid using infinite values in formal mathematics. Themes mathematics logic rigor Mood analytical cautious Type philosophical technical When to use this quote - academic research - educational curricula - engineering calculations - philosophical debates Key Concepts infinite concepts proof standards theoretical limits Questions to Reflect On - When is it acceptable to use infinities? - How do you handle limits in practical problems? A Different Perspective Some fields, like physics, use infinities as useful approximations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Protest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protest/) ## Related quotes > [ That this subject \[of imaginary magnitudes\] has hitherto been considered from the wrong point of view and surrounded by a mysterious obscurity, is to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/that-this-subject-of-imaginary-magnitudes-has-hitherto-been/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [Complete knowledge of the nature of an analytic function must also include insight into its behavior for imaginary values of the arguments. 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Willard Gibbs > [The method of magnitude estimation provided a direct measure of sensation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-smith-stevens/the-method-of-magnitude-estimation-provided-a-direct-measure-of/) Stanley Smith Stevens ## More by Carl Friedrich Gauss > [To the distracting occupations belong especially my lecture courses which I am holding this winter for the first time, and which now cost much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/to-the-distracting-occupations-belong-especially-my-lecture-courses/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [The total number of Dirichlet's publications is not large: jewels are not weighed on a grocery scale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/the-total-number-of-dirichlet-s-publications-is-not-large-jewels-are/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [If others would but reflect on mathematical truths as deeply and continuously as I have, they would make my discoveries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/if-others-would-but-reflect-on-mathematical-truths-as-deeply-and/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [“Thou, nature, art my goddess; to thy laws my services are bound... { His second motto, from King Lear by Shakespeare }”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/thou-nature-art-my-goddess-to-thy-laws-my-services-are-bound-his/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [I have the vagary of taking a lively interest in mathematical subjects only where I may anticipate ingenious association of ideas and results recommending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/i-have-the-vagary-of-taking-a-lively-interest-in-mathematical/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [Arc, amplitude, and curvature sustain a similar relation to each other as time, motion, and velocity, or as volume, mass, and density.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/arc-amplitude-and-curvature-sustain-a-similar-relation-to-each-other/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [There are problems to whose solution I would attach an infinitely greater importance than to those of mathematics, for example touching ethics, or our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/there-are-problems-to-whose-solution-i-would-attach-an-infinitely/) [Carl Friedrich Gauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/) > [Mathematics is the queen of sciences and number theory is the queen of mathematics. 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God is not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/god-is-a-reality-of-spirit-he-cannot-be-conceived-as-an-object-not/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I've been working with a holistic specialist, trying to bring my body into balance, and part of making that happen is putting my mom's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/i-ve-been-working-with-a-holistic-specialist-trying-to-bring-my-body/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [“the infinite Manhattan night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn/the-infinite-manhattan-night/) [Rachel Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn/) Browse all 3,421 Infinite quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I protest against the use of infinite magnitude ..., which is never permissible in mathematics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carl Friedrich Gauss" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/i-protest-against-the-use-of-infinite-magnitude-which-is-never/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Infinite" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/i-protest-against-the-use-of-infinite-magnitude-which-is-never/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/carl-friedrich-gauss-9412_infinite_i-protest-against-the-use-of-infinite-ma_358001.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/carl-friedrich-gauss-9412_infinite_i-protest-against-the-use-of-infinite-ma_358001.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2dd/carl-friedrich-gauss-9412_infinite_i-protest-against-the-use-of-infinite-ma_358001.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I protest against the use of infinite magnitude ..., which is never permissible in mathematics.” — Carl Friedrich Gauss", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Carl Friedrich Gauss", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-friedrich-gauss/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I protest against the use of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/i-protest-against-the-use-of-infinite-magnitude-which-is-never/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-friedrich-gauss/i-protest-against-the-use-of-infinite-magnitude-which-is-never/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```