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A proof by contrapositive is a direct proof of the contrapositive of a statement. [14] However, indirect methods such as proof by contradiction can also be used with contraposition, as, for example, in the proof of the irrationality of the square root of 2 .
It is an application of the general truth that if a statement is true, then so is its contrapositive. The form shows that inference from P implies Q to the negation of Q implies the negation of P is a valid argument. The history of the inference rule modus tollens goes back to antiquity. [4]
Let S be a statement of the form P implies Q (P → Q). Then the converse of S is the statement Q implies P (Q → P). In general, the truth of S says nothing about the truth of its converse, [2] unless the antecedent P and the consequent Q are logically equivalent. For example, consider the true statement "If I am a human, then I am mortal."
Proof by contraposition infers the statement "if p then q" by establishing the logically equivalent contrapositive statement: "if not q then not p". For example, contraposition can be used to establish that, given an integer , if is even, then is even: Suppose is not even.
This led to a natural curiosity with regards to geometry and trigonometry – particularly triangles and rectangles. These were the shapes which provided the most questions in terms of practical things, so early geometrical concepts were focused on these shapes, for example, the likes of buildings and pyramids used these shapes in abundance.
This is the contrapositive of the first statement, and it must be true if and only if the original statement is true. Example 2. If an animal is a dog, then it has four legs. My cat has four legs. Therefore, my cat is a dog.
Such a proof is again a refutation by contradiction. A typical example is the proof of the proposition "there is no smallest positive rational number": assume there is a smallest positive rational number q and derive a contradiction by observing that q / 2 is even smaller than q and still positive.
The raven paradox, also known as Hempel's paradox, Hempel's ravens or, rarely, the paradox of indoor ornithology, [1] [2] is a paradox arising from the question of what constitutes evidence for the truth of a statement. Observing objects that are neither black nor ravens may formally increase the likelihood that all ravens are black even though ...