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In mathematics, proof by contrapositive, or proof by contraposition, is a rule of inference used in proofs, where one infers a conditional statement from its contrapositive. [15] In other words, the conclusion "if A , then B " is inferred by constructing a proof of the claim "if not B , then not A " instead.
The thing of importance is that the dog detects or does not detect an intruder, not whether there is one.) Example 1: If I am the burglar, then I can crack a safe. I cannot crack a safe. Therefore, I am not the burglar. Example 2: If Rex is a chicken, then he is a bird. Rex is not a bird. Therefore, Rex is not a chicken.
Given a type A statement, "All S are P.", one can make the immediate inference that "All non-P are non-S" which is the contrapositive of the given statement. Given a type O statement, "Some S are not P.", one can make the immediate inference that "Some non-P are not non-S" which is the contrapositive of the given statement.
There are many places to live in California other than San Diego. On the other hand, one can affirm with certainty that "if someone does not live in California" (non-Q), then "this person does not live in San Diego" (non-P). This is the contrapositive of the first statement, and it must be true if and only if the original statement is true ...
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.
It seems obvious that one cannot both accept the hypothesis that all P's are Q and also reject the contrapositive, i.e. that all non-Q's are non-P. Yet it is easy to see that on the Neyman-Pearson theory of testing, a test of "All P's are Q" is not necessarily a test of "All non-Q's are non-P" or vice versa.
Wherever logic is applied, especially in mathematical discussions, it has the same meaning as above: it is an abbreviation for if and only if, indicating that one statement is both necessary and sufficient for the other. This is an example of mathematical jargon (although, as noted above, if is more often used than iff in statements of definition).
A system will be said to be inconsistent if it yields the assertion of the unmodified variable p [S in the Newman and Nagel examples]. In other words, the notion of "contradiction" can be dispensed when constructing a proof of consistency; what replaces it is the notion of "mutually exclusive and exhaustive" classes.