[Hereford Eye]

In my head - infinity has no bounds, like the title of Freeman Dyson's book: Infinite in All Directions. Eternity - on the other hand - seems to me to carry a connotation that it has a start but no end.
The latter is more difficult for me to envision until you bring it down to cases, such as numbers. Then, an infinite set of whole numbers is greater than an infinite number of even numbers which is greater than an infinite set of prime numbers. But numbers have a starting place. So, why are number strngs infinite and not eternal?
OTH, you do not hear of lovers contemplating spending infinity with each other. They seem to want to spend eternity together. Happily ever after.
In either case, I suspect it is the old "cause-and-effect" syndrome that makes contemplating these concepts difficult. In our culture, we seem to need to a place to start from. An infinity with no bounds defies this limitation.

[JRMurdock]

If Eternity has a begining, why would Infinity not? Infinity must start with you if it is to start anywhere.

To Argue the point, why must Eternity have a starting point? Just because there was a 'Big Bang' that started the Universe doesn't mean there was nothing before. How do we gague where time truly began? For all we know time has no ending and since it's been around forever (or loops forever) it has no real begining either.

[Gary Wassner]

Infinity is a spacial thing, and the image for me in my mind's eye is baffling. Eternity is not quite a spatial image for me, though I admit that when I do think about it, I have a spatial starting point, like a time line suspended in black space. I don't envision starting points for either. That would be like imagining a barrier that ends the infinite expanses of space, and then simply imagining what comes after the barrier. It's useless, and i just cannot get my mind around either concept.

[JRMurdock]

Being that infinity and eternity have these 'barriers' does that make them inexplicable in human terms? Are these barriers only broken by 'God'? which is why humans cannot grasp them?

Why must something that goes on forever have ends or beginings that humans try to define? If we do eventually define either infinity or eternity, do we then find 'God'? or do we find ourselves?

This reminds me a bit of the story 'Paycheck' by Dick. Time loops around and you end up seeing yourself. It was very strange.

[Gary Wassner]

Nietzsche had a theory called the Eternal Recurrence. He claimed, to simplify it somewhat, that if the world we live in, our universe, is made up of a finite number of particles, and if time is eternal, then the combinations of particles, no matter how many there are, will recur over and over again. So, he claimed that this moment will be relived an infinite number of times. He used that support his life-affirming claim that each moment is critical.

[JRMurdock]

but if the Universe goes on for Infinity and has been around (will be around) for an Eternity, isn't it safe to say that there CAN'T be a finite number of particles?

Also, if we're doomed to live in an 'Eternal Recurrence' then no moment would be critical as it would happen again. And again. And again.

[Gary Wassner]

Every moment would be critical! Unless you want to live with failure and mediocrity eternally.

This was not a scientific theory, though it was a quasi one. I think this was a product, at that time in his life, of his knowledge of physics and certain scientists he was beginning to study. It was formulated to counter Kant's categorical imperative in part.

[JRMurdock]

But being stuck in an eternal loop, wouldn't change be impossible? You'd be stuck in a finite set of options that would all lead to the same end. Or does this loop allow for 'thread jumping' to allow a different outcome to the same set of circumstances? How does one destined for failure 'escape' his loop and find a new one that has a more desirable outcome?

[Gary Wassner]

Each moment would recurr an infinite number of times - both the good ones and the bad ones, so you need to maximize your good ones, or you are doomed to repeat them eternally. It can be inspiring, when you really think about it.

[JRMurdock]

then wouldn't time be finite since there are a finite number of people living a finite number of moments?