As promised, another math post
Due to recovering from the interview, getting started on learning the stuff that I need to learn to help popefelix (sorry, I didn't realize that this was tied in to an actual project, otherwise I would've moved my ass sooner!), trying to find a free file hosting service (because the updates will be pdf files from now on until livejournal has LaTeX compatibility), the second math post came in a bit later than I would've liked.
Rather than talk about propositional and predicate calculus--which is the usual first topic for a "how to prove it" course, and which most students find boring and dull despite its importance--I thought I'd take this post to talk a bit about what a proof is and the difference between mathematics and the sciences.
Here is the file. Please let me know if the link doesn't work.
Update: Try clicking on the what is a proof really.pdf file on this page.
Rather than talk about propositional and predicate calculus--which is the usual first topic for a "how to prove it" course, and which most students find boring and dull despite its importance--I thought I'd take this post to talk a bit about what a proof is and the difference between mathematics and the sciences.
Here is the file. Please let me know if the link doesn't work.
Update: Try clicking on the what is a proof really.pdf file on this page.