Question My Mom told me that "there's always somebody better than you!". I was thinking if that was true or not because there are not an infinite number of people in the world, so at some point you will reach somebody who is the best, right? For example, if person A was the best person at art in the world, there wouldn't be anybody else who can possibly be better at art than them.

Accepted:
April 1, 2020

Comments

Perhaps you are very gifted

Perhaps you are very gifted and your mother was humorously commending humility. Maybe you won an award and she did not want you to think you were the best and could therefore retire. In any case, on the matter at hand: if your mother told every (to use your example) artist that there was always somebody better than that artist, then there would indeed have to be infinitely many artists --just as there cannot be a greatest possible number, there could not be a greatest possible artist. Going further, if we have reason to believe there are finitely many artists (which we do), it would be hard to argue that there must be a single best artist. There might be many equally talented artists. Also "if person A was the best person at art in the world" there might be many artists who can POSSIBLY be better at art than them, but they never try to be.

PS: I suggest that you may be good at something and nobody could be better: being you.