For some context I did a course on set theory where I was taught about ZFC, and the construction of the natural numbers, integers etc.
I think I was far too young to take the course because it’s left me really confused and questioning about everything.
You guys might not be qualified for this kind of thing but I don’t feel real anymore (as strange as it sounds) and I feel dissociated from everything.
The construction of the integers and rationals felt easy and intuitive after the natural numbers were defined. However, when I think about what a natural number is, I just don’t know anymore.
I know in set theory they are symbols defined recursively in terms of empty sets, but I just don’t how they are used in such broad contexts and take so many forms when they are just sets. The bijection (counting) elements of a set feels strange to me, since I just feel uncomfortable now saying a set has 3 elements.
