Dynamic and Static Conceptions of Infinity: Continuous Processes and their Totalities
Abstract
From a cognitive perspective, the study of infinity in mathematics education has focused on analyzing the potential and actual infinities. From the point of view of APOS (Action, Process, Object, Schema) theory, these notions have been explained in terms of iterative infinite processes and transcendent objects, respectively. In this article a genetic decomposition that supports the design of two problems related to the tangent line to a curve, where dynamic and static aspects have been taken into consideration, is presented. By means of an interview with a university instructor, evidence of Totality, a possible new structure that allows an individual to conceive a Process as a whole without being able to apply Actions to it is presented.
Keywords
Mathematical infinity, APOS theory, Infinite processes, Transcendent objectsReferences
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