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A generalized form of the diagonal argument was used by Cantor to prove Cantor's theorem: for every set S, the power set of S—that is, the set of all subsets of S (here written as P(S))—cannot be in bijection with S itself. This proof proceeds as follows: Let f be any function from S to P(S). It suffices to prove f cannot be surjective.
Georg Ferdinand Ludwig Philipp Cantor (/ ˈ k æ n t ɔːr / KAN-tor; German: [ˈɡeːɔʁk ˈfɛʁdinant ˈluːtvɪç ˈfiːlɪp ˈkantoːɐ̯]; 3 March [O.S. 19 February] 1845 – 6 January 1918 [1]) was a mathematician who played a pivotal role in the creation of set theory, which has become a fundamental theory in mathematics.
This is known as Cantor's theorem. The argument below is a modern version of Cantor's argument that uses power sets (for his original argument, see Cantor's diagonal argument). By presenting a modern argument, it is possible to see which assumptions of axiomatic set theory are used.
The evidence strongly suggests that Cantor was quite confident in the result itself and that his comment to Dedekind refers instead to his then-still-lingering concerns about the validity of his proof of it. [1] Nevertheless, Cantor's remark would also serve nicely to express the surprise that so many mathematicians after him have experienced ...
"Theorem 1 is the famous theorem of Cantor, that the real numbers are uncountable. The proof is essentially Cantor's 'diagonal' proof. Both Cantor's theorem and his method of proof are of great importance." (Bishop 1967, Chapter 2, Calculus and the Real Numbers, page 25) "The real numbers, for certain purposes, are too thin.
Cantor gave two proofs that the cardinality of the set of integers is strictly smaller than that of the set of real numbers (see Cantor's first uncountability proof and Cantor's diagonal argument). His proofs, however, give no indication of the extent to which the cardinality of the integers is less than that of the real numbers.
Diagonal argument can refer to: Diagonal argument (proof technique), proof techniques used in mathematics. A diagonal argument, in mathematics, is a technique employed in the proofs of the following theorems: Cantor's diagonal argument (the earliest) Cantor's theorem; Russell's paradox; Diagonal lemma. Gödel's first incompleteness theorem
The terms "diagonal lemma" or "fixed point" do not appear in Kurt Gödel's 1931 article or in Alfred Tarski's 1936 article. Rudolf Carnap (1934) was the first to prove the general self-referential lemma , [ 6 ] which says that for any formula F in a theory T satisfying certain conditions, there exists a formula ψ such that ψ ↔ F (°#( ψ ...