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A mathematical proof is a deductive argument for a mathematical statement, ... not a form of inductive reasoning. In proof by mathematical induction, ...
Mathematical logic is the study of formal logic within mathematics.Major subareas include model theory, proof theory, set theory, and recursion theory (also known as computability theory).
In mathematics and logic, a direct proof is a way of showing the truth or falsehood of a given statement by a straightforward combination of established facts, usually axioms, existing lemmas and theorems, without making any further assumptions. [1]
Reverse mathematics is a program in mathematical logic that seeks to determine which axioms are required to prove theorems of mathematics. [5] The field was founded by Harvey Friedman . Its defining method can be described as "going backwards from the theorems to the axioms ", in contrast to the ordinary mathematical practice of deriving ...
The mathematical method examines infinitely many cases to prove a general statement, but it does so by a finite chain of deductive reasoning involving the variable, which can take infinitely many values. The result is a rigorous proof of the statement, not an assertion of its probability.
The Pythagorean theorem has at least 370 known proofs. [1]In mathematics and formal logic, a theorem is a statement that has been proven, or can be proven. [a] [2] [3] The proof of a theorem is a logical argument that uses the inference rules of a deductive system to establish that the theorem is a logical consequence of the axioms and previously proved theorems.
In logic, proof by contradiction is a form of proof that establishes the truth or the validity of a proposition by showing that assuming the proposition to be false leads to a contradiction. Although it is quite freely used in mathematical proofs, not every school of mathematical thought accepts this kind of nonconstructive proof as universally ...
Around 300 BC, Euclid organized mathematical knowledge by way of postulates and first principles, which evolved into the axiomatic method that is used in mathematics today, consisting of definition, axiom, theorem, and proof. [78] His book, Elements, is widely considered the most successful and influential textbook of all time. [79]