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Greek mathematics constitutes an important period in the history of mathematics: fundamental in respect of geometry and for the idea of formal proof. [44] Greek mathematicians also contributed to number theory , mathematical astronomy , combinatorics , mathematical physics , and, at times, approached ideas close to the integral calculus .
The beginning of a proof usually follows immediately thereafter, and is indicated by the word "proof" in boldface or italics. On the other hand, several symbolic conventions exist to indicate the end of a proof. While some authors still use the classical abbreviation, Q.E.D., it is relatively uncommon in modern mathematical texts.
The development of mathematical proof is primarily the product of ancient Greek mathematics, and one of its greatest achievements. [9] Thales (624–546 BCE) and Hippocrates of Chios (c. 470–410 BCE) gave some of the first known proofs of theorems in geometry.
The Elements (Ancient Greek: Στοιχεῖα Stoikheîa) is a mathematical treatise consisting of 13 books attributed to the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid c. 300 BC. It is a collection of definitions, postulates, propositions (theorems and constructions), and mathematical proofs of the propositions.
For the most part, straightedge and compass constructions dominated ancient Greek mathematics and most theorems and results were stated and proved in terms of geometry. These proofs involved a straightedge (such as that formed by a taut rope), which was used to construct lines, and a compass, which was used to construct circles.
Euclid (/ ˈ j uː k l ɪ d /; Ancient Greek: Εὐκλείδης; fl. 300 BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. [2] Considered the "father of geometry", [3] he is chiefly known for the Elements treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely dominated the field until the early 19th century.
Zeno's arguments may then be early examples of a method of proof called reductio ad absurdum, also known as proof by contradiction. Thus Plato has Zeno say the purpose of the paradoxes "is to show that their hypothesis that existences are many, if properly followed up, leads to still more absurd results than the hypothesis that they are one."
It is to be regretted that this first comprehensive and thorough-going presentation of a mathematical logic and the derivation of mathematics from it [is] so greatly lacking in formal precision in the foundations (contained in 1– 21 of Principia [i.e., sections 1– 5 (propositional logic), 8–14 (predicate logic with identity/equality), 20 ...