How much is infinity minus infinity
In an article in the taz on answering children's questions, the podcast "Eigenraum" by CDS member Prof. Dr. Thomas Kahle was quoted.
In his podcast "Eigenraum," Prof. Dr. Thomas Kahle from the Institute of Algebra and Geometry at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg has been explaining mathematical topics and their histories since 2022. The taz newspaper cited the podcast episode "Unendlich minus Unendlich" to answer a child's question, "Wie viel ist unendlich minus unendlich?" in an article of the same name. The taz newspaper answers children's questions on various topics weekly.
In the podcast, Prof. Dr. Kahle explains the question in a child-friendly and clear way using gummy bears. For example, if you eat an infinite number of gummy bears from an infinite supply, but set one aside for each gummy bear eaten, you have eaten an infinite number of gummy bears, i.e., subtracted one, but still have an infinite number of gummy bears left over. In this case, infinity minus infinity is therefore infinity. But if you initially set two of the infinite supply of gummy bears aside and eat the remaining infinite number, then infinity minus infinity is two. So there is not just one answer to the question, but an infinite number.
In the latest episode "Wahrscheinlichkeitsworte" from July 22, 2025, of the podcast "Eigenraum," Prof. Dr. Thomas Kahle discusses talks about the question of whether Bayern will be champions again and how to calculate that.