[Math] The set of natural number functions is uncountable

elementary-set-theoryfunctions

I thought the set of natural number functions would be of the same cardinality as the countably infinite product of $\mathbb{N}$, which is countable.

Each natural number function can be identified with an infinite-tuple of $\mathbb{N}$ by letting the $i$th entry be the image of the number $i$ under the function.

Best Answer

Every real number in $(0,1)$ has either one or two decimal representations. (Some have two, like $0.1000\ldots$ which is equal to $0.0999\ldots$.) But any way, each real number in $(0,1)$ gives at least one decimal representation. And that decimal representation can be viewed as a function from $\mathbb{N}$ to $\mathbb{N}$ by taking the $n$th digit after the decimal. (Actually, it's more restrictive: from $\mathbb{N}$ to $\{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9\}$.)

For example, $0.72465\ldots$ can be used to define a function $$\begin{align}1&\mapsto7\\ 2&\mapsto2\\ 3&\mapsto4\\ 4&\mapsto6\\ 5&\mapsto5\\ \vdots&\phantom{\mapsto{}}\vdots\end{align}$$

So the set of functions from $\mathbb{N}$ to $\mathbb{N}$ contains a subset that is as large as the real interval $(0,1)$. (And seemingly even stronger, so does the set of functions from $\mathbb{N}$ to $\{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9\}$. And seemingly even stronger still, if we used binary instead of decimal, so does the set of functions from $\mathbb{N}$ to $\{0,1\}$.)