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| | Ask HN: How to learn mathematical proofs from scratch? | |
141 points by greymalik on June 19, 2022 | hide | past | favorite | 121 comments
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| | Where can I find an exceedingly gentle introduction to writing proofs? My math education is limited to non-AP high school classes many years ago. I’m now trying to relearn what I’ve forgotten (and then go beyond that) so I would like to grasp the underlying principles rather than only doing rote exercises to memorize techniques for getting answers without deeply understanding what’s behind those techniques. But I need to start with really, really simple proofs that explain the very basic techniques. For example, I know things like (a^b)^c = a^bc, and that I can solve for x in x/a = b/c by cross multiplying so that xc = ab, but I can’t prove either of those things. How do I learn to develop their formal proofs? Any of the texts I’ve seen so far are much too advanced for me. |
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With that intuition it's simply a matter of slogging through a proof textbook like Velleman's "How to Prove It" until you have the confidence to work through the texts that truly interest you. If you don't feel like a clueless fool you're not trying hard enough. Confusion and self-doubt are sure signs you're finally learning something.