Related papers: Why prove things?

We introduce a logic for reasoning about evidence, that essentially views evidence as a function from prior beliefs (before making an observation) to posterior beliefs (after making the observation). We provide a sound and complete…

While proof is a central component of postsecondary mathematical study, proof construction has historically posed significant difficulties for students who intend to earn mathematics degrees at the undergraduate level. This work is…

Since its existence, the computer tool has often supported mathematicians, whether it is to implement an approximation method (numerical calculation of a root, of an integral, ...) or to simulate a phenomenon (geometric in nature,…

We introduce a logic for reasoning about evidence that essentially views evidence as a function from prior beliefs (before making an observation) to posterior beliefs (after making the observation). We provide a sound and complete…

This essay considers the special character of mathematical reasoning, and draws on observations from interactive theorem proving and the history of mathematics to clarify the nature of formal and informal mathematical language. It proposes…

A major question in philosophy of science involves the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in physics. Why should mathematics, created or discovered, with nothing empirical in mind be so perfectly suited to describe the laws of the…

"[M]athematicians care no more for logic than logicians for mathematics." Augustus de Morgan, 1868. Proofs are traditionally syntactic, inductively generated objects. This paper presents an abstract mathematical formulation of propositional…

The origins of proof-theoretic semantics lie in the question of what constitutes the meaning of the logical connectives and its response: the rules of inference that govern the use of the connective. However, what if we go a step further…

Mathematical theorems are human knowledge able to be accumulated in the form of symbolic representation, and proving theorems has been considered intelligent behavior. Based on the BHK interpretation and the Curry-Howard isomorphism, proof…

It is nowadays common to consider that proof must be part of the learning of mathematics from Kindergarten to University1. As it is easy to observe, looking back to the history of mathematical curricula, this has not always been the case…

We show that a proof in multiplicative linear logic can be represented as a decorated surface, such that two proofs are logically equivalent just when their surfaces are geometrically equivalent. This is an extended abstract for…

The traditional view of evidence in mathematics is that evidence is just proof and proof is just derivation. There are good reasons for thinking that this view should be rejected: it misrepresents both historical and current mathematical…

General acceptance of a mathematical proposition $P$ as a theorem requires convincing evidence that a proof of $P$ exists. But what constitutes "convincing evidence?" I will argue that, given the types of evidence that are currently…

The article gives a survey of mathematical proofs that rely on computer calculations and formal proofs.

We present a new, elementary, dynamical proof of the prime number theorem.

An age-old controversy in mathematics concerns the necessity and the possibility of constructive proofs. The controversy has been rekindled by recent advances which demonstrate the feasibility of a fully constructive mathematics. This…

The paper examines the construction of a course in mathematical analysis at a pedagogical university, aimed at developing the ability of future mathematics teachers to detect and solve problems related to finding proofs. Key words: teaching…

This article examines two approaches to verification, one based on using a logic for expressing properties of a system, and one based on showing the system equivalent to a simpler system that obviously has whatever property is of interest.…

Many have wondered how mathematics, which appears to be the result of both human creativity and human discovery, can possibly exhibit the degree of success and seemingly-universal applicability to quantifying the physical world as…

We argue that it is neither necessary nor sufficient for a mathematical proof to have epistemic value that it be "correct", in the sense of formalizable in a formal proof system. We then present a view on the relationship between…