4: Mathematical Induction and Proofs
- Page ID
- 50486
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- 4.2: Direct Proof
- "Brute force" is a term commonly applied to considering all possibilities manually, one at a time, before coming to a conclusion. That works well under simple circumstances but is rarely practical within industrial applications. This section discusses that reality so that you can avoid the "brute force" trap.
- 4.3: Indirect Proof
- Science works to either prove or disprove assertions. This is contrary to those who insist that science seeks only to disprove assertions. This mentality causes the acceptance of assertions unless they are proven false. Therein lies a dangerous way of thinking since it leads to "guilty until proven innocent" once an accusation is made. Assertions are not acceptable as fact until they are proven true. In this section, we consider "proof by contradiction", one side of scientific effort.