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Favourite mathematical proof.

Started by uewebawo 2 years ago 1 Comment

What is your favourite mathematical proof. Come on, I know you have one.

Tags: logic, math, proof

1.	Girls are evil (No description provided) 1 Comment	Vote! 44 votes 869 pts
2.	Dilbert's salary theorem Dilbert's "Salary Theorem" states that "Engineers and scientists can never earn as much as Business Executives and Accountants." T... [show more] Dilbert's "Salary Theorem" states that "Engineers and scientists can never earn as much as Business Executives and Accountants." This theorem can now be supported by a mathematical equation based on the following two postulates: Postulate 1: Knowledge is Power. Postulate 2: Time is Money. As every engineer knows: Power = Work / Time Since: Knowledge = Power Time = Money Knowledge = Work/Money Solving for Money, we get: Money = Work / Knowledge Thus, as Knowledge approaches zero, Money approaches infinity, regardless of the amount of work done. Conclusion: The less you know, the more you make. [show less] 1 Comment	Vote! 17 votes 329 pts
3.	Euler's identity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler%27s_formula Add a comment	Vote! 10 votes 185 pts
4.	Irrationality of the square root of two m/n * m/n = 2? 2 Comments	Vote! 8 votes 149 pts
5.	Answer blocked: Grupies think this answer is irrelevant. [+] View Anyway [-] Hide again I have no favorite math proof. (No description provided) 1 Comment	Vote! 7 votes 139 pts
6.	Lagrange's Theorem If G is a finite group and H is a subgroup of G, then the order of H divides the order of G. Certainly makes abstract algebraic... [show more] If G is a finite group and H is a subgroup of G, then the order of H divides the order of G. Certainly makes abstract algebraic proofs easier and group theory nice [show less] 1 Comment	Vote! 5 votes 99 pts
7.	1+1=2 Seriously! It can be found here: http://mathforum.org...ew/51551.html 1 Comment	Vote! 5 votes 96 pts
8.	The infinitude of primes yep, there be infinite. 3 Comments	Vote! 5 votes 95 pts
9.	Pythagorean Theorem a^2 + b^2 = c^2 Add a comment	Vote! 5 votes 94 pts
10.	Closed form solution for the Fibonacci numbers Also known as Binet's formula. Add a comment	Vote! 4 votes 70 pts
11.	Euler's formula for planar graphs V - E + F = 2 Add a comment	Vote! 3 votes 56 pts
12.	Kuratowski's Theorem A graph is planar if and only if it does not contain a subgraph that is an expansion of K(5) or K(3,3) Add a comment	Vote! 3 votes 56 pts
13.	Classification of 2-manifolds Might as well throw in 0 and 1 manifolds as well, but they aren't as fun. Bonus points to anybody that can classify the pic :... [show more] Might as well throw in 0 and 1 manifolds as well, but they aren't as fun. Bonus points to anybody that can classify the pic :o) [show less] Add a comment	Vote! 3 votes 50 pts
14.	Answer blocked: Grupies think this answer is irrelevant. [+] View Anyway [-] Hide again I've got your math proof right here! (No description provided) 1 Comment	Vote! 2 votes 40 pts
15.	Theory of Idiocity (No description provided) Add a comment	Vote! 2 votes 38 pts
16.	Hairy Ball Theorem It's not a dirty joke... You cannot comb a hairy ball. More formally: A continous non-zero vector field on a 2-sphere does n... [show more] It's not a dirty joke... You cannot comb a hairy ball. More formally: A continous non-zero vector field on a 2-sphere does not exist. [show less] 1 Comment	Vote! 2 votes 36 pts
17.	Stoke's Theorem I'm not sure about the proof part being my "favourite"; but the result is beautiful and profound. We slogged through the proof ... [show more] I'm not sure about the proof part being my "favourite"; but the result is beautiful and profound. We slogged through the proof in Differential Topology and I barely survived. [show less] Add a comment	Vote! 2 votes 34 pts
18.	The Ramsey Number R(3,3) A short, elegant combinatorial proof that six is the smallest number of people for which one is guaranteed to find either 3 mutual... [show more] A short, elegant combinatorial proof that six is the smallest number of people for which one is guaranteed to find either 3 mutual acquaintances or 3 mutual strangers. R(4,4) (the smallest number for which one is guaranteed to find four mutual acquaintances or four mutual strangers) is also known, but larger diagonal Ramsey Numbers are not. According to the wikipedia article on the subject, "the exact value of R(5,5) is unknown, although it is known to lie between 43 and 49 (inclusive); barring a breakthrough in theory, it is probable that the exact value of R(6,6) will remain unknown forever." The great Paul Erdos put it this way: "Imagine an alien force, vastly more powerful than us landing on Earth and demanding the value of R(5, 5) or they will destroy our planet. In that case, we should marshal all our computers and all our mathematicians and attempt to find the value. But suppose, instead, that they asked for R(6, 6), we should attempt to destroy the aliens." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsey_number [show less] Add a comment	Vote! 2 votes 29 pts
19.	Invalid Proofs These are proofs that apear to be valid, when in truth they are not! As usual Wikipedia has a great article: http://en.wikiped... [show more] These are proofs that apear to be valid, when in truth they are not! As usual Wikipedia has a great article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invalid_proof [show less] Add a comment	Vote! 1 votes 20 pts
20.	Godel's Ontological Proof "God, by definition, is that than which a greater cannot be thought. God exists in the understanding. If God exists in the underst... [show more] "God, by definition, is that than which a greater cannot be thought. God exists in the understanding. If God exists in the understanding, we could imagine Him to be greater by existing in reality. Therefore, God must exist." [show less] Add a comment	Vote! 1 votes 20 pts
21.	Anything by Maxwell, lorentz, kirchoff, Dirac (No description provided) 1 Comment	Vote! 1 votes 20 pts
22.	Ptolemy's Theorem For a cyclic quadrilateral, the sum of the products of the two pairs of opposite sides equals the product of the diagonals. Add a comment	Vote! 1 votes 20 pts
23.	Fermat's Last Theorem This was proved by AndrÃ© Weil in 1995. x^n + y^n = z^n is impossible in integers for n > 2... [show more] This was proved by AndrÃ© Weil in 1995. x^n + y^n = z^n is impossible in integers for n > 2 [show less] Add a comment	Vote! 1 votes 20 pts
24.	Barney is the devil (No description provided) Add a comment	Vote! 1 votes 20 pts
25.	Godel's Incompleteness Theorem This guy was pretty smart. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6del%27s_i ncompleteness_theorems... [show more] This guy was pretty smart. http://en.wikipedia....ness_theorems [show less] Add a comment	Vote! 1 votes 20 pts
26.	Cantor's Diagonalization even more fascinating that it doesn't have to be countable... Add a comment	Vote! 1 votes 18 pts
27.	Brouwer's Fixed Point Any continous function from a unit n-ball to itself must contain a fixed point. Add a comment	Vote! 1 votes 16 pts
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yellowgrape 2 years ago

my mind melted trying to understand

Topic Details

This topic was started by uewebawo on June 11th, 2006. 82 grupies have voted on one or more of the 27 answers.

Tags: logic, math, proof

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Favourite mathematical proof.

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Votes by Month

Girls are evil

Dilbert's salary theorem

Euler's identity

Irrationality of the square root of two

I have no favorite math proof.

Lagrange's Theorem

1+1=2

The infinitude of primes

Pythagorean Theorem

Closed form solution for the Fibonacci numbers

Euler's formula for planar graphs

Kuratowski's Theorem

Classification of 2-manifolds

I've got your math proof right here!

Theory of Idiocity

Hairy Ball Theorem

Stoke's Theorem

The Ramsey Number R(3,3)

Invalid Proofs

Godel's Ontological Proof

Anything by Maxwell, lorentz, kirchoff, Dirac

Ptolemy's Theorem

Fermat's Last Theorem

Barney is the devil

Godel's Incompleteness Theorem

Cantor's Diagonalization

Brouwer's Fixed Point

Comments | Leave a comment

Topic Details