Set Theory – Can a Countable Union of Two-Element Sets be Uncountable?

axiom-of-choiceset-theory

I am thinking about the Axiom of Choice and I am trying to understand the Axiom with some but a little progress. Many questions are arising in my head. So, I know that there exists a model of ZF set theory in which the set of real numbers, which is provably uncountable, is a countable union of countable sets.

Question: does there exist a model of ZF set theory for which there exists a collection $A_n$, $n\in\mathbb{N}$, of pairwise disjoint two-element sets such that their union is not countable?

Some thoughts. Let $A_n$, $n\in\mathbb{N}$, be a collection of pairwise disjoint two-element sets.
Then for every $n\in\mathbb{N}$ there exists a bijection $f:\{1,2\}\to A_n$.
But when we want to prove that $\bigcup_{n\in\mathbb{N}}A_n$ is countable, we have to choose a countable number of bijections $f_n:\{1,2\}\to A_n$, $n\in\mathbb{N}$, at once (simultaneously).
After this we plainly define the bijection $f:\mathbb{N}\to\bigcup_{n\in\mathbb{N}}A_n$
by $f(1):=f_1(1)$, $f(2):=f_1(2)$, $f(3):=f_2(1)$, $f(4):= f_2(2)$, and so on.
Rigorously, we write $f(k)=f_l(1)$ if $k=2l-1$ and $f(k)=f_l(2)$ if $k=2l$.
Clearly, $f$ is a bijection and we are done.
But without the Axiom of Countable Choice we can not choose $f_n$, $n\in\mathbb{N}$, simultaneously and the argument does not work.

It is worth mentioning that if $A_n$ are subsets of $\mathbb{R}$, then we can choose $f_n$, $n\in\mathbb{N}$, simultaneously.
Indeed, we can define $f_n(1):=\min A_n$ and $f_n(2):=\max A_n$, $n\in\mathbb{N}$,
and the natural proof given above works.
So if a counterexample exists, the sets $A_n$, $n\in\mathbb{N}$, have to be "abstract", say pairs of socks.

Best Answer

Yes, it is possible. This phenomenon is sometimes called Russell's socks, named after an analogy due to Russell about how one can pick out a shoe from an infinite set of pairs of shoes, but not for socks since socks in a pair are indistinguishable.

Horst Herrlich, Eleftherios Tachtsis, On the number of Russell’s socks or 2 + 2 + 2 + . . . = ? is a nice overview which proves some basic properties, including consistency of existence of Russell's socks.

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