Nondiscrete measure on the power set of an uncountable set

measure-theoryset-theory

Th following is exercise 1.4.25 from Terry Tao's Measure Theory:

Exercise 25 Let ${X}$ be an at most countable set with the discrete ${\sigma}$-algebra. Show that every measure ${\mu}$ on this measurable space can be uniquely represented in the form $\mu = \sum_{x \in X} c_x \delta_x$ for some ${c_x \in [0,+\infty]}$, thus $ \mu(E) = \sum_{x \in E} c_x$ for all ${E \subset X}$. (This claim fails in the uncountable case, although showing this is slightly tricky.)

The last sentence intrigues me. I have done some search and found that under the continuum hypothesis, there is no non-discrete probability measure on the set of power sets. On the other hand, if we assume measurable cardinal exists, then there exists one. However, I don't think this is what the author intended, and the answer is possibly much simpler if we don't require $\mu$ to be a probability measure. Anyone knows a simple example of a nondiscrete measure on the power set of an uncountable set? (If $X$ is uncountable, the sum is interpreted to be the sup over all finite sums)

Best Answer

The comment in the last sentence in exercise 1.4.25 from Terry Tao's Measure Theory is about measures, not probabilities.

The OP asks: "Anyone knows a simple example of a nondiscrete measure on the power set of an uncountable set?"

Here is a simple example. Let $X$ be any uncountable set and let $2^X$ be the power set of $X$. For every $E \in 2^X$, define $\mu(E) = 0$, if $E$ is countable and $\mu(E)=+\infty$, if $E$ is uncountable.

It is easy to prove that $\mu$ is a measure defined on $2^X$. It is also easy to see that for any singleton $\{a\} \in 2^X$, $\mu(\{a\})=0$. So, $\mu$ is a non-discrete measure ($\mu$ can not be represented in the form $\mu = \sum_{x \in X} c_x \delta_x$ for some ${c_x \in [0,+\infty]}$).