The Meaning of Proofs

The Meaning of Proofs
Author: Gabriele Lolli
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2022-09-27
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0262544261

Why mathematics is not merely formulaic: an argument that to write a mathematical proof is tantamount to inventing a story. In The Meaning of Proofs, mathematician Gabriele Lolli argues that to write a mathematical proof is tantamount to inventing a story. Lolli offers not instructions for how to write mathematical proofs, but a philosophical and poetic reflection on mathematical proofs as narrative. Mathematics, imprisoned within its symbols and images, Lolli writes, says nothing if its meaning is not narrated in a story. The minute mathematicians open their mouths to explain something—the meaning of x, how to find y—they are framing a narrative. Every proof is the story of an adventure, writes Lolli, a journey into an unknown land to open a new, connected route; once the road is open, we correct it, expand it. Just as fairy tales offer a narrative structure in which new characters can be inserted into recurring forms of the genre in original ways, in mathematics, each new abstract concept is the protagonist of a different theory supported by the general techniques of mathematical reasoning. In ancient Greece, there was more than an analogy between literature and mathematics, there was direct influence. Euclid’s proofs have roots in poetry and rhetoric. Mathematics, Lolli asserts, is not the mere manipulation of formulas.

Proofs from THE BOOK

Proofs from THE BOOK
Author: Martin Aigner
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2013-06-29
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 3662223430

According to the great mathematician Paul Erdös, God maintains perfect mathematical proofs in The Book. This book presents the authors candidates for such "perfect proofs," those which contain brilliant ideas, clever connections, and wonderful observations, bringing new insight and surprising perspectives to problems from number theory, geometry, analysis, combinatorics, and graph theory. As a result, this book will be fun reading for anyone with an interest in mathematics.

Book of Proof

Book of Proof
Author: Richard H. Hammack
Publisher:
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2016-01-01
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780989472111

This book is an introduction to the language and standard proof methods of mathematics. It is a bridge from the computational courses (such as calculus or differential equations) that students typically encounter in their first year of college to a more abstract outlook. It lays a foundation for more theoretical courses such as topology, analysis and abstract algebra. Although it may be more meaningful to the student who has had some calculus, there is really no prerequisite other than a measure of mathematical maturity.

The Meaning of Proofs

The Meaning of Proofs
Author: Gabriele Lolli
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2022-09-27
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0262371049

Why mathematics is not merely formulaic: an argument that to write a mathematical proof is tantamount to inventing a story. In The Meaning of Proofs, mathematician Gabriele Lolli argues that to write a mathematical proof is tantamount to inventing a story. Lolli offers not instructions for how to write mathematical proofs, but a philosophical and poetic reflection on mathematical proofs as narrative. Mathematics, imprisoned within its symbols and images, Lolli writes, says nothing if its meaning is not narrated in a story. The minute mathematicians open their mouths to explain something—the meaning of x, how to find y—they are framing a narrative. Every proof is the story of an adventure, writes Lolli, a journey into an unknown land to open a new, connected route; once the road is open, we correct it, expand it. Just as fairy tales offer a narrative structure in which new characters can be inserted into recurring forms of the genre in original ways, in mathematics, each new abstract concept is the protagonist of a different theory supported by the general techniques of mathematical reasoning. In ancient Greece, there was more than an analogy between literature and mathematics, there was direct influence. Euclid’s proofs have roots in poetry and rhetoric. Mathematics, Lolli asserts, is not the mere manipulation of formulas.

Lectures on the Philosophy of Mathematics

Lectures on the Philosophy of Mathematics
Author: Joel David Hamkins
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2021-03-09
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0262542234

An introduction to the philosophy of mathematics grounded in mathematics and motivated by mathematical inquiry and practice. In this book, Joel David Hamkins offers an introduction to the philosophy of mathematics that is grounded in mathematics and motivated by mathematical inquiry and practice. He treats philosophical issues as they arise organically in mathematics, discussing such topics as platonism, realism, logicism, structuralism, formalism, infinity, and intuitionism in mathematical contexts. He organizes the book by mathematical themes--numbers, rigor, geometry, proof, computability, incompleteness, and set theory--that give rise again and again to philosophical considerations.

Proofs and Refutations

Proofs and Refutations
Author: Imre Lakatos
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 190
Release: 1976
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 9780521290388

Proofs and Refutations is for those interested in the methodology, philosophy and history of mathematics.

Formal Proofs in Maths

Formal Proofs in Maths
Author: Chris Lavranos
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2015-07-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781514634448

The scope of Formal Proofs in Maths is to teach students between higher school classes and University undergraduate or postgraduate studies, how to write a formal proof with the true meaning of the concept, of simple theorems in Algebra, particulary in identities concerning equalities, equations and inequalities. This is accomplished by writing four different types of proof namely type(A), type(B), type(C) and type(D) for each theorem or exercise. In TYPE(A) ordinary proofs will be cited in the usual narrative style used by experienced mathematicians. In TYPE(B) a rigorous proof in steps will be introduced to the reader. Each line of that proof will be justified by an appropriate axiom, theorem or definition. In TYPE(C) we will try for a smooth transition from a rigorous proof to a formal proof exposing the way that the laws of logic apply on one or more statements of the proof. In TYPE(D) we will simply write in tabular stepwise form, the results of TYPE(C) mentioning both: 1) Axioms, theorems or definitions. 2) The laws of logic. Hence, finally producing a formal proof according to the definition given in the preface note of the book.

Dag Prawitz on Proofs and Meaning

Dag Prawitz on Proofs and Meaning
Author: Heinrich Wansing
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 469
Release: 2014-11-27
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3319110411

This volume is dedicated to Prof. Dag Prawitz and his outstanding contributions to philosophical and mathematical logic. Prawitz's eminent contributions to structural proof theory, or general proof theory, as he calls it, and inference-based meaning theories have been extremely influential in the development of modern proof theory and anti-realistic semantics. In particular, Prawitz is the main author on natural deduction in addition to Gerhard Gentzen, who defined natural deduction in his PhD thesis published in 1934. The book opens with an introductory paper that surveys Prawitz's numerous contributions to proof theory and proof-theoretic semantics and puts his work into a somewhat broader perspective, both historically and systematically. Chapters include either in-depth studies of certain aspects of Dag Prawitz's work or address open research problems that are concerned with core issues in structural proof theory and range from philosophical essays to papers of a mathematical nature. Investigations into the necessity of thought and the theory of grounds and computational justifications as well as an examination of Prawitz's conception of the validity of inferences in the light of three “dogmas of proof-theoretic semantics” are included. More formal papers deal with the constructive behaviour of fragments of classical logic and fragments of the modal logic S4 among other topics. In addition, there are chapters about inversion principles, normalization of p roofs, and the notion of proof-theoretic harmony and other areas of a more mathematical persuasion. Dag Prawitz also writes a chapter in which he explains his current views on the epistemic dimension of proofs and addresses the question why some inferences succeed in conferring evidence on their conclusions when applied to premises for which one already possesses evidence.

How to Prove It

How to Prove It
Author: Daniel J. Velleman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2006-01-16
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0521861241

Many students have trouble the first time they take a mathematics course in which proofs play a significant role. This new edition of Velleman's successful text will prepare students to make the transition from solving problems to proving theorems by teaching them the techniques needed to read and write proofs. The book begins with the basic concepts of logic and set theory, to familiarize students with the language of mathematics and how it is interpreted. These concepts are used as the basis for a step-by-step breakdown of the most important techniques used in constructing proofs. The author shows how complex proofs are built up from these smaller steps, using detailed 'scratch work' sections to expose the machinery of proofs about the natural numbers, relations, functions, and infinite sets. To give students the opportunity to construct their own proofs, this new edition contains over 200 new exercises, selected solutions, and an introduction to Proof Designer software. No background beyond standard high school mathematics is assumed. This book will be useful to anyone interested in logic and proofs: computer scientists, philosophers, linguists, and of course mathematicians.

Essays on Mathematical and Philosophical Logic

Essays on Mathematical and Philosophical Logic
Author: Jaakko Hintikka
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 494
Release: 1979
Genre: Gardening
ISBN: 9789027708793

Proceedings of the Fourth Scandinavian Logic Symposium and of the First Soviet-Finnish Logic Conference, Jyväskylä, Finland, June 29-July 6, 1976.