{"id":55575,"date":"2026-01-30T15:56:03","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T20:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/?post_type=news&p=55575"},"modified":"2026-02-11T16:00:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T21:00:28","slug":"exploring-infinity-how-a-granddaughters-question-sparked-a-journey-through-mathematics","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/exploring-infinity-how-a-granddaughters-question-sparked-a-journey-through-mathematics\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring infinity: How a granddaughter\u2019s question sparked a journey through mathematics"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Ed Scheinerman\u2019s<\/a> seven-year-old granddaughter asked the question that every mathematician secretly loves\u2014\u201cWhat is the number before infinity?\u201d\u2014he knew he was onto something. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to like the answer,\u201d he recalls telling her, \u201cbut it\u2019s a marvelous question,\u201d says Scheinerman, professor of Applied Mathematics and Statistics and vice dean for special projects at the Whiting School of Engineering<\/a>. There isn\u2019t a number before infinity, but that impossibility sparked an idea: what if he could take readers on a journey through the many faces of infinity?<\/p>\n

This curiosity led to his recently published book, A Guide to Infinity<\/a>: Ten Mathematical Journeys <\/em>(Yale University Press 2026), which draws on decades of mathematical thinking to present many concepts of infinity in accessible ways. Unlike traditional math books aimed at specialists, Scheinerman\u2019s work is dedicated to his six grandchildren, serving as a playful reminder that curiosity, and sometimes the best questions, starts young. \u201cThe audience is anyone who likes math,\u201d he says. \u201cYou don\u2019t need calculus, just a memory of high school math. If you remember that, the book should be accessible.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked why he frames infinity as a series of journeys rather than a single concept, Scheinerman explains, \u201cThere are many ways to think about infinity. Each chapter explores a different concept. It\u2019s a guide that takes you on a tour of infinities.\u201d The ten journeys mentioned in the book range from familiar ideas to more surprising ones, all unified by the principle that infinity is not a number to fear, but a concept to explore.<\/p>\n

Even after decades of research in discrete mathematics\u2014where he developed random dot product graphs used to model social and biological networks\u2014Scheinerman was surprised by what he uncovered while writing the book. Concepts like hyperreal numbers, which extend the idea of numbers in new ways, and tropical arithmetic, where all algebraic curves are straight lines thanks to a playful nod to Brazil, revealed that even a veteran mathematician can stumble upon new ideas when examining old questions from fresh perspectives.<\/p>\n

Part of the book\u2019s charm lies in its approach to a concept that can feel intimidating. \u201cMost people use numbers as adjectives,\u201d Scheinerman says. \u201cMathematicians think of numbers as nouns. Infinity is just another number, like negative seven. It\u2019s a thing you can manipulate.\u201d<\/p>\n

His goal is not just to explain, but to normalize. Just as zero and negative numbers once surprised the human imagination, infinity can be mastered with perspective and a little practice.<\/p>\n

One chapter explores projective geometry, the concept that parallel lines meet at infinity. Here, the abstract becomes practical: a line on the horizon is just another line and manipulating it mathematically creates the illusion of depth in a painting or a digital scene. \u201cThat\u2019s infinity as a place, not just a number,\u201d Scheinerman says.<\/p>\n

While not written as a textbook, the book reflects Scheinerman\u2019s teaching philosophy. \u201cI hope students, especially non-math majors, get a sense of how mathematicians think,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s different from how an engineer or economist might think about a problem. Infinity shows there are many ways to approach a concept, and not all of them are compatible\u2014but that\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scheinerman hopes readers will walk away both unafraid of infinity and inspired by the creativity inherent in mathematics. \u201cMathematics isn\u2019t just about solving equations,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s about inventing ideas, exploring them, and seeing how they connect to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

After several years of writing and research, the book has already sparked interest far beyond the university. Upcoming interviews include the Museum of Mathematics<\/a>\u00a0and a feature interview with Rorotoko,<\/a> a platform known for in-depth discussions with authors across disciplines. But the moment that remains most meaningful to him? Delivering a copy to the granddaughter, now 11, whose question started it all. He says with a smile, \u201cShe was the spark for this whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-55575","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry","news_categories-department-news","news_categories-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nExploring infinity: How a granddaughter\u2019s question sparked a journey through mathematics | Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/exploring-infinity-how-a-granddaughters-question-sparked-a-journey-through-mathematics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Exploring infinity: How a granddaughter\u2019s question sparked a journey through mathematics | Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When Ed Scheinerman\u2019s seven-year-old granddaughter asked the question that every mathematician secretly loves\u2014\u201cWhat is the number before infinity?\u201d\u2014he knew he was onto something. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to like the answer,\u201d…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/exploring-infinity-how-a-granddaughters-question-sparked-a-journey-through-mathematics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-11T21:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AMS-Seminar-Series-Image-Webpage-58.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1444\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AMS-Seminar-Series-Image-Webpage-58.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Exploring infinity: How a granddaughter\u2019s question sparked a journey through mathematics | Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/exploring-infinity-how-a-granddaughters-question-sparked-a-journey-through-mathematics\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Exploring infinity: How a granddaughter\u2019s question sparked a journey through mathematics | Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics","og_description":"When Ed Scheinerman\u2019s seven-year-old granddaughter asked the question that every mathematician secretly loves\u2014\u201cWhat is the number before infinity?\u201d\u2014he knew he was onto something. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to like the answer,\u201d…","og_url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/exploring-infinity-how-a-granddaughters-question-sparked-a-journey-through-mathematics\/","og_site_name":"Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics","article_modified_time":"2026-02-11T21:00:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1444,"height":960,"url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AMS-Seminar-Series-Image-Webpage-58.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AMS-Seminar-Series-Image-Webpage-58.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/exploring-infinity-how-a-granddaughters-question-sparked-a-journey-through-mathematics\/","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/exploring-infinity-how-a-granddaughters-question-sparked-a-journey-through-mathematics\/","name":"Exploring infinity: How a granddaughter\u2019s question sparked a journey through mathematics | Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-01-30T20:56:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-11T21:00:28+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/exploring-infinity-how-a-granddaughters-question-sparked-a-journey-through-mathematics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/exploring-infinity-how-a-granddaughters-question-sparked-a-journey-through-mathematics\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/exploring-infinity-how-a-granddaughters-question-sparked-a-journey-through-mathematics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Exploring infinity: How a granddaughter\u2019s question sparked a journey through mathematics"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/#website","url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/","name":"Hopkins Applied Math & Statistics","description":"Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/55575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/ams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}