Related papers: Is Zero a Natural Number?
While the general form of even perfect numbers is well-known, the existence or non-existence of odd perfect numbers is still an open problem. We address this problem and prove that if a natural number is odd, then it's not perfect.
In this expository article, the real numbers are defined as infinite decimals. After defining an ordering relation and the arithmetic operations, it is shown that the set of real numbers is a complete ordered field. It is further shown that…
The (partially) ordered set of the non-trivial zeros of the zeta function with positive imaginary parts is considered. The order is the coordinatewise order inherited from $\mathbb{C}$. Some interesting properties regarding the minimal…
This paper grew out of the observation that the possibilities of proof by induction and definition by recursion are often confused. The paper reviews the distinctions. The von Neumann construction of the ordinal numbers includes a…
A characterization is provided for each natural number except one (1) by means of an ordered pair of elements. The first element is a natural number called the type of the natural number characterized, and the second is a natural number…
A new definition of a real number is that it is a rule which says Yes or No based on whether the real number ought to be in a given rational interval. This is a teaser paper for formalizing, exploring, and generalizing this definition. The…
Cantor's famous proof of the non-denumerability of real numbers does apply to any infinite set. The set of exclusively all natural numbers does not exist. This shows that the concept of countability is not well defined. There remains no…
Our number system is a magnificent tool. But it is far from perfect. Can it be improved? In this paper some possibilities are discussed, including the use of a different base or directed (negative as well as positive) numerals. We also put…
It is shown that any denumerable list L to which Cantor's diagonal method was applied is incomplete. However, this doesn't allow us to affirm that the cardinality of the real numbers of the interval [0, 1] is greater than the cardinality of…
A code of the natural numbers is a uniquely-decodable binary code of the natural numbers with non-decreasing codeword lengths, which satisfies Kraft's inequality tightly. We define a natural partial order on the set of codes, and show how…
A set of first-order formulas, whatever the cardinality of the set of symbols, is equivalent to an independent set.
A perfect number is a number whose divisors add up to twice the number itself. The existence of odd perfect numbers is a millennia-old unsolved problem. This note proposes a proof of the nonexistence of odd perfect numbers. More generally,…
We consider a notion of "numerosity" for sets of tuples of natural numbers, that satisfies the five common notions of Euclid's Elements, so it can agree with cardinality only for finite sets. By suitably axiomatizing such a notion, we show…
Conventional time is modelled as the one dimensional continuum R^1 of real numbers. This continuity, however, does {\em not} stem from {\em any} fundamental principle. On the other hand, natural time is {\em not} continuous and its values…
It is proven that, contrarily to the common belief, the notion of zero is not necessary for having positional representations of numbers. Namely, for any positive integer $k$, a positional representation with the symbols for $1, 2, \ldots,…
A real number is a rule that, when provided with a rational interval, answers Yes or No depending on if the real number ought to be considered to be in the given interval. Since the goal is to define the real numbers, this can only motivate…
A number is perfect if it is the sum of its proper divisors; here we call a finite group `perfect' if its order is the sum of the orders of its proper normal subgroups. (This conflicts with standard terminology but confusion should not…
The paper introduces the notion of the size of countable sets that preserves the Part-Whole Principle and generalizes the notion of the cardinality of finite sets. The sizes of natural numbers, integers, rational numbers, and all their…
We introduce the notion of the cosmic numbers of a cosmological model, and discuss how they can be used to naturally classify models according to their ability to solve some of the problems of the standard cosmological model.
Contrary to popular misconception, the question in the title is far from simple. It involves sets of numbers on the first level, sets of sets of numbers on the second level, and so on, endlessly. The infinite hierarchy of the levels…