Numbers Look Like Leaves in Set Theory
2024-12-28
While learning ZFC set theory, the author discovered that the graphical representation of natural numbers using Von Neumann ordinals, when rendered using a force-directed graph layout, strikingly resembles leaves. The article details the recursive definition of Von Neumann ordinals and their tree-like structure, visually demonstrating how numbers from 0 to 16 take on a leaf-like form. The author concludes by questioning whether this 'leaf' shape is inherent to the structure of Von Neumann ordinals themselves and plans to investigate the set-theoretic representation of rational numbers.