Mathematics poll

[ciphergoth]

Inspired by a similar poll in palmer1984's journal.

About the "proof" question below: examples of the kind of proof I mean would be a proof that there are infinitely many primes, or that the square root of two is irrational, or of Pythagoras's Theorem. A proof in computer science counts too. By "know a proof off by heart" I mean that you'd be able to convince someone of it at a party, if they had the background to follow the proof.

If you know lots of proofs, feel free to choose one you particularly like in the last question...

[Poll #1351621]

Comments

[elsmi.livejournal.com]

> The phrase "uncountably large collections" isn't uncountably large. Your brain is a finite object or finite size and there is a limit to the complexity of the things it can think about. The concept of "uncountably large" is not sich a complex thing.

Quite so. And one of the inferences we can make in doing that non-infinite reasoning is that, using the relevant senses of the words, there is no mapping with the property you propose. You can't just retreat behind puns when someone calls you on that...

But, you know, room for all kinds. I hope you and Brouwer have a nice beer together.