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In mathematics, the tombstone, halmos, end-of-proof, or Q.E.D. symbol "∎" (or " ") is a symbol used to denote the end of a proof, in place of the traditional abbreviation "Q.E.D." for the Latin phrase "quod erat demonstrandum". It is inspired by the typographic practice of end marks, an element that marks the end of an article. [1] [2]
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.
In proof by exhaustion, the conclusion is established by dividing it into a finite number of cases and proving each one separately. The number of cases sometimes can become very large. For example, the first proof of the four color theorem was a proof by exhaustion with 1,936 cases. This proof was controversial because the majority of the cases ...
It is similar to a proof by example in mathematics. [1] It is an example of jumping to conclusions. [2] For example, one may generalize about all people or all members of a group from what one knows about just one or a few people: If one meets a rude person from a given country X, one may suspect that most people in country X are rude.
The example mapping f happens to correspond to the example enumeration s in the picture above. A generalized form of the diagonal argument was used by Cantor to prove Cantor's theorem: for every set S, the power set of S—that is, the set of all subsets of S (here written as P(S))—cannot be in bijection with S itself. This proof proceeds as ...
In mathematics, certain kinds of mistaken proof are often exhibited, and sometimes collected, as illustrations of a concept called mathematical fallacy.There is a distinction between a simple mistake and a mathematical fallacy in a proof, in that a mistake in a proof leads to an invalid proof while in the best-known examples of mathematical fallacies there is some element of concealment or ...
The commutative diagram used in the proof of the five lemma. In mathematics, and especially in category theory, a commutative diagram is a diagram such that all directed paths in the diagram with the same start and endpoints lead to the same result. [1] It is said that commutative diagrams play the role in category theory that equations play in ...
A proof from Euclid's Elements that, given a line segment, one may construct an equilateral triangle that includes the segment as one of its sides: an equilateral triangle ΑΒΓ is made by drawing circles Δ and Ε centered on the points Α and Β, and taking one intersection of the circles as the third vertex of the triangle.