The Story of Proof: Logic and the History of Mathematics

The Story of Proof: Logic and the History of Mathematics

by John Stillwell
The Story of Proof: Logic and the History of Mathematics

The Story of Proof: Logic and the History of Mathematics

by John Stillwell

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Overview

How the concept of proof has enabled the creation of mathematical knowledge

The Story of Proof investigates the evolution of the concept of proof—one of the most significant and defining features of mathematical thought—through critical episodes in its history. From the Pythagorean theorem to modern times, and across all major mathematical disciplines, John Stillwell demonstrates that proof is a mathematically vital concept, inspiring innovation and playing a critical role in generating knowledge.

Stillwell begins with Euclid and his influence on the development of geometry and its methods of proof, followed by algebra, which began as a self-contained discipline but later came to rival geometry in its mathematical impact. In particular, the infinite processes of calculus were at first viewed as “infinitesimal algebra,” and calculus became an arena for algebraic, computational proofs rather than axiomatic proofs in the style of Euclid. Stillwell proceeds to the areas of number theory, non-Euclidean geometry, topology, and logic, and peers into the deep chasm between natural number arithmetic and the real numbers. In its depths, Cantor, Gödel, Turing, and others found that the concept of proof is ultimately part of arithmetic. This startling fact imposes fundamental limits on what theorems can be proved and what problems can be solved.

Shedding light on the workings of mathematics at its most fundamental levels, The Story of Proof offers a compelling new perspective on the field’s power and progress.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691234366
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 11/15/2022
Pages: 456
Sales rank: 361,906
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

John Stillwell is emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of San Francisco. His many books include Elements of Mathematics and Reverse Mathematics (both Princeton).

Table of Contents

Preface xi

1 Before Euclid 1

1.1 The Pythagorean Theorem 2

1.2 Pythagorean Triples 4

1.3 Irrationality 6

1.4 From Irrationals to Infinity 7

1.5 Fear of Infinity 10

1.6 Eudoxus 12

1.7 Remarks 15

2 Euclid 16

2.1 Definition, Theorem, and Proof 17

2.2 The Isosceles Triangle Theorem and SAS 20

2.3 Variants of the Parallel Axiom 22

2.4 The Pythagorean Theorem 25

2.5 Glimpses of Algebra 26

2.6 Number Theory and Induction 29

2.7 Geometric Series 32

2.8 Remarks 36

3 After Euclid 39

3.1 Incidence 40

3.2 Order 41

3.3 Congruence 44

3.4 Completeness 45

3.5 The Euclidean. Plane 47

3.6 The Triangle Inequality 50

3.7 Projective Geometry 51

3.8 The Pappus and Desargues Theorems 55

3.9 Remarks 59

4 Algebra 61

4.1 Quadratic Equations 62

4.2 Cubic Equations 64

4.3 Algebra as "Universal Arithmetick" 68

4.4 Polynomials and Symmetric Functions 69

4.5 Modern Algebra: Groups 73

4.6 Modern Algebra: Fields and Rings 77

4.7 Linear Algebra 81

4.8 Modern Algebra: Vector Spaces 82

4.9 Remarks 85

5 Algebraic Geometry 92

5.1 Conic Sections 93

5.2 Fermat and Descartes 95

5.3 Algebraic Curves 97

5.4 Cubic Curves 100

5.5 Bézout's Theorem 103

5.6 Linear Algebra and Geometry 105

5.7 Remarks 108

6 Calculus 110

6.1 From Leonardo to Harriot 111

6.2 Infinite Sums 113

6.3 Newton's Binomial Series 117

6.4 Euler's Solution of the Base! Problem 119

6.5 Rates of Change 122

6.6 Area and Volume 126

6.7 Infinitesimal Algebra and Geometry 130

6.8 The Calculus of Series 136

6.9 Algebraic Functions and Their Integrals 138

6.10 Remarks 142

7 Number Theory 145

7.1 Elementary Number Theory 146

7.2 Pythagorean Triples 150

7.3 Fermat's Last Theorem 154

7.4 Geometry and Calculus in Number Theory 158

7.5 Gaussian Integers 164

7.6 Algebraic Number Theory 171

7.7 Algebraic Number Fields 174

7.8 Rings and Ideals 178

7.9 Divisibility and Prime Ideals 183

7.10 Remarks 186

8 The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra 191

8.1 The Theorem before Its Proof 192

8.2 Early "Proofs" of FTA and Their Gaps 194

8.3 Continuity and the Real Numbers 195

8.4 Dedekind's Definition of Real Numbers 197

8.5 The Algebraist's Fundamental Theorem 199

8.6 Remarks 201

9 Non-Euclidean Geometry 202

9.1 The Parallel Axiom 203

9.2 Spherical Geometry 204

9.3 A Planar Model of Spherical Geometry 207

9.4 Differential Geometry 210

9.5 Geometry of Constant Curvature 215

9.6 Beltrami's Models of Hyperbolic Geometry 219

9.7 Geometry of Complex Numbers 223

9.8 Remarks 226

10 Topology 228

10.1 Graphs 229

10.2 The Filler Polyhedron Formula 234

10.3 Euler Characteristic and Genus 239

10.4 Algebraic Curves as Surfaces 241

10.5 Topology of Surfaces 244

10.6 Curve Singularities and Knots 250

10.7 Reidemeister Moves 253

10.8 Simple Knot Invariants 256

10.9 Remarks 261

11 Arithmetization 263

11.1 The Completeness of R 264

11.2 The Line, the Plane, and Space 265

11.3 Continuous Functions 266

11.4 Defining "Function" and "Integral" 268

11.5 Continuity and Differentiability 273

11.6 Uniformity 276

11.7 Compactness 279

11.8 Encoding Continuous Functions 284

11.6 Remarks 286

12 Set Theory 291

12.1 A Very Brief History of Infinity 292

12.2 Equinumerous Sets 294

12.3 Sets Equinumerous with R 300

12.4 Ordinal Numbers 305

12.5 Realizing Ordinals by Sets 305

12.6 Ordering Sets by Rank 308

12.7 Inaccessibility 310

12.8 Paradoxes of the Infinite 311

12.9 Remarks 312

13 Axioms for Numbers, Geometry, and Sets 316

13.1 Peano Arithmetic 317

13.2 Geometry Axioms 320

13.3 Axioms for Real Numbers 322

13.4 Axioms for Set Theory 324

13.5 Remarks 327

14 The Axiom of Choice 329

14.1 AC and Infinity 330

14.2 AC and Graph Theory 331

14.3 AC and Analysis 332

14.4 AC and Measure Theory 334

14.5 AC and Set Theory 337

14.6 AC and Algebra 339

14.7 Weaker Axioms of Choice 342

14.8 Remarks 344

15 Logic and Computation 347

15.1 Prepositional Logic 348

15.2 Axioms for Prepositional Logic 351

15.3 Predicate Logic 355

15.4 Gödels Completeness Theorem 357

15.5 Reducing Logic to Computation 361

15.6 Computably Enumerable Sets 363

15.7 Turing Machines 365

15.8 The Word Problem for Semigroups 371

15.9 Remarks 376

16 Incompleteness 381

16.1 From Unsolvability to Unprovability 382

16.2 The Arithmetization of Syntax 383

16.3 Gentzen's Consistency Proof for PA 386

16.4 Hidden Occurrences of ε0 in Arithmetic 390

16.5 Constructivity 393

16.6 Arithmetic Comprehension 396

16.7 The Weak König Lemma 399

16.8 The Big Five 400

16.9 Remarks 403

Bibliography 405

Index 419

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“I am a great admirer of Stillwell’s writing, and this book does not disappoint. Ranging broadly and authoritatively over the history of mathematics, he takes the reader into those places where proofs have been innovative and have played a critical role.”—David M. Bressoud, author of Calculus Reordered: A History of the Big Ideas



"This is a lively story of the way that mathematics develops new concepts and ideas in order to solve hard problems. It is, at the same time, a story of the way that logic and the theory of computability emerged organically from reflection on mathematical method and thought. This book will be highly valuable to anyone interested in contemporary mathematics and how it came to be."—Jeremy Avigad, Carnegie Mellon University

The Story of Proof—a book about mathematics as proof, and proof as mathematics, through the ages—is unique and enjoyable."—Anil Nerode, Cornell University

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