Finite modification of the identity on the real line

ID: finite-modification-of-the-identity-on-the-real-line

A finite modification agrees with the identity map outside a finite exceptional set. Sorting that set gives a unique finite record of pairs . Real-number pairing by separated digits encodes the record in , and placing length- records in disjoint intervals gives an injection from all finite modifications into the real line. Conversely, changing the value at one fixed point gives a real-parameter family, so the Cantor-Schröder-Bernstein theorem shows this family has continuum cardinality.

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