ABSTRACT
At one level, nobody could fail to be impressed by Cantor’s work. It showed mathematical craftsmanship of the very highest calibre. But there was great room for debate about its significance. The infinite seemed at last to have been subjected to precise mathematical scrutiny. But perhaps Cantor had been indulging in technical flights of fancy. Perhaps, as I suggested in the last chapter, he had actually confirmed some of the most deeply entrenched prejudices about the infinite with his talk of inconsistent totalities.
