文档介绍：The Proof is in the Pudding
Steven G. Krantz
The Proof is in the Pudding
The Changing Nature of Mathematical Proof
Steven G. Krantz
Department of Mathematics
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, MO 63130
USA
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ISBN 978-0-387-48908-7 e-ISBN 978-0-387-48744-1
DOI -0-387-48744-1
Springer New York Dordrecht Heidelberg London
Library of Congress Control Number: 2011928557
Mathematics Subject Classification (2010): 01-XX, 03-XX, 65-XX, 97A30
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To Jerry Lyons, mentor and friend
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Preface
The title of this book is not entirely frivolous. There are many who will claim that the
correct aphorism is “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”—that it makes no sense to
say, “The proof is in the pudding.” Yet people say it all the time, and the intended meaning
is usually clear. So it is with mathematical proof. A proof in mathematics is a psychological
device for convincing some person, or some audience, that a certain mathematical assertion
is true. The structure, and the language used, in formulating such a proof will be a product
of the person creating it; but