In my Discrete Mathematics class we discussed a few famous paradoxes, such as Russell’s paradox/barber paradox/librarian paradox, the liar’s paradox, and the naming numbers paradox. Afterward, a student of mine shared with me this old legal paradox featuring Euathlus and Protagoras. Euathlus wanted to become a lawyer but could not pay Protagoras. Protagoras agreed to…
Tag: paradox
What is the difference between a theorem, a lemma, and a corollary?
I prepared the following handout for my Discrete Mathematics class (here’s a pdf version). Definition — a precise and unambiguous description of the meaning of a mathematical term. It characterizes the meaning of a word by giving all the properties and only those properties that must be true. Theorem — a mathematical statement that is proved using rigorous mathematical reasoning. In…
David Richeson: Division by Zero 