"Plane
geometry" redirects here. For other uses, see Plane geometry
(disambiguation).
Geometry |
---|
History of geometry |
Euclidean
geometry is a mathematical system attributed to the Alexandrian Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described in his textbook on geometry: the Elements. Euclid's method consists in assuming
a small set of intuitively appealing axioms, and deducing many other propositions (theorems) from these. Although many of Euclid's
results had been stated by earlier mathematicians,[1] Euclid was the
first to show how these propositions could fit into a comprehensive deductive
and logical system.[2] The
Elements begins with plane geometry, still taught in secondary school as the
first axiomatic system and the first examples of formal proof. It goes on to the solid geometry of three dimensions. Much of the Elements
states results of what are now called algebra and number theory, explained in geometrical
language.[3]
For more than two
thousand years, the adjective "Euclidean" was unnecessary because no other sort
of geometry had been conceived. Euclid's axioms seemed so intuitively obvious
(with the possible exception of the parallel postulate) that any theorem proved from
them was deemed true in an absolute, often metaphysical, sense. Today, however,
many other self-consistent non-Euclidean geometries are
known, the first ones having been discovered in the early 19th century. An
implication of Einstein's theory of general relativity is that physical space itself is
not Euclidean, and Euclidean space is a good approximation for it only
where the gravitational field is weak.[4]
Contents
[hide]The Elements[edit]
Main article: Euclid's Elements
The Elements are mainly a systematization of earlier knowledge of geometry. Its superiority over earlier treatments was rapidly recognized, with the result that there was little interest in preserving the earlier ones, and they are now nearly all lost.
Books I–IV and VI
discuss plane geometry. Many results about plane figures are proved, e.g., If
a triangle has two equal angles, then the sides subtended by the angles are
equal. The Pythagorean theorem is proved.[5]
Books V and VII–X deal
with number theory, with numbers treated geometrically via their representation
as line segments with various lengths. Notions such as prime numbers and rational and irrational numbers are
introduced. The infinitude of prime numbers is proved.
Books XI–XIII concern solid geometry. A typical result is the 1:3 ratio between the volume of a cone and a cylinder with the same height and base.
Axioms[edit]
Euclidean geometry is
an axiomatic system, in which all theorems ("true statements")
are derived from a small number of axioms.[6] Near the
beginning of the first book of the Elements, Euclid gives five postulates (axioms) for
plane geometry, stated in terms of constructions (as translated by Thomas
Heath):[7]
"Let the following be postulated":
- "To draw a straight line from any point to any point."
- "To produce [extend] a finite straight line continuously in a straight line."
- "To describe a circle with any centre and distance [radius]."
- "That all right angles are equal to one another."
- The parallel postulate: "That, if a straight line falling on two straight lines make the interior angles on the same side less than two right angles, the two straight lines, if produced indefinitely, meet on that side on which are the angles less than the two right angles."
Although Euclid's statement of the postulates only explicitly asserts the existence of the constructions, they are also taken to be unique.
The Elements also include the following five "common notions":
- Things that are equal to the same thing are also equal to one another (Transitive property of equality).
- If equals are added to equals, then the wholes are equal.
- If equals are subtracted from equals, then the remainders are equal.
- Things that coincide with one another are equal to one another (Reflexive Property).
- The whole is greater than the part.
Parallel postulate[edit]
Main article: Parallel postulate
To the ancients, the
parallel postulate seemed less obvious than the others. They were concerned with
creating a system which was absolutely rigorous and to them it seemed as if the
parallel line postulate should have been able to be proven rather than simply
accepted as a fact. It is now known that such a proof is impossible.[8] Euclid himself
seems to have considered it as being qualitatively different from the others, as
evidenced by the organization of the Elements: the first 28 propositions
he presents are those that can be proved without it.
Many alternative axioms
can be formulated that have the same logical consequences as the parallel postulate. For
example Playfair's axiom states:
- In a plane, through a point not on a given straight line, at most one line can be drawn that never meets the given line.
Methods of proof[edit]
Euclidean Geometry is
constructive. Postulates 1, 2, 3, and 5 assert
the existence and uniqueness of certain geometric figures, and these assertions
are of a constructive nature: that is, we are not only told that certain things
exist, but are also given methods for creating them with no more than a compass and an unmarked
straightedge.[9] In this sense,
Euclidean geometry is more concrete than many modern axiomatic systems such as
set theory, which often
assert the existence of objects without saying how to construct them, or even
assert the existence of objects that cannot be constructed within the
theory.[10] Strictly
speaking, the lines on paper are models of the objects defined within the formal
system, rather than instances of those objects. For example a Euclidean straight
line has no width, but any real drawn line will. Though nearly all modern
mathematicians consider nonconstructive methods just as sound as
constructive ones, Euclid's constructive proofs often supplanted fallacious
nonconstructive ones—e.g., some of the Pythagoreans' proofs that involved
irrational numbers, which usually required a statement such as "Find the
greatest common measure of ..."[11]
Euclid often used proof by contradiction.
Euclidean geometry also allows the method of superposition, in which a figure is
transferred to another point in space. For example, proposition I.4,
side-angle-side congruence of triangles, is proved by moving one of the two
triangles so that one of its sides coincides with the other triangle's equal
side, and then proving that the other sides coincide as well. Some modern
treatments add a sixth postulate, the rigidity of the triangle, which can be
used as an alternative to superposition.[12]
System of measurement and arithmetic[edit]
Euclidean geometry has
two fundamental types of measurements: angle and distance. The angle scale is
absolute, and Euclid uses the right angle as his basic unit, so that, e.g., a
45-degree angle would be
referred to as half of a right angle. The distance scale is relative; one
arbitrarily picks a line segment with a certain nonzero length as the unit, and
other distances are expressed in relation to it.
A line in Euclidean
geometry is a model of the real number line. A line segment is a part of a
line that is bounded by two end points, and contains every point on the line
between its end points. Addition is represented by a construction in which one
line segment is copied onto the end of another line segment to extend its
length, and similarly for subtraction.
Euclid refers to a pair
of lines, or a pair of planar or solid figures, as "equal" (ἴσος) if their
lengths, areas, or volumes are equal, and similarly for angles. The stronger
term "congruent" refers to the idea that an entire figure
is the same size and shape as another figure. Alternatively, two figures are
congruent if one can be moved on top of the other so that it matches up with it
exactly. (Flipping it over is allowed.) Thus, for example, a 2x6 rectangle and a
3x4 rectangle are equal but not congruent, and the letter R is congruent to its
mirror image. Figures that would be congruent except for their differing sizes
are referred to as similar. Corresponding angles in a pair of similar shapes are
congruent and corresponding sides are in proportion to each other.
Notation and terminology[edit]
Naming of points and figures[edit]
Complementary and supplementary angles[edit]
Angles whose sum is a
right angle are called complementary. Complementary angles are formed when
one or more rays share the same vertex and are pointed in a direction that is in
between the two original rays that form the right angle. The number of rays in
between the two original rays are infinite. Those whose sum is a straight angle
are supplementary. Supplementary angles are formed when
one or more rays share the same vertex and are pointed in a direction that in
between the two original rays that form the straight angle (180 degrees). The
number of rays in between the two original rays are infinite like those possible
in the complementary angle.
Modern versions of Euclid's notation[edit]
Modern school textbooks
often define separate figures called lines (infinite), rays (semi-infinite), and line segments (of finite
length). Euclid, rather than discussing a ray as an object that extends to
infinity in one direction, would normally use locutions such as "if the line is
extended to a sufficient length," although he occasionally referred to "infinite
lines." A "line" in Euclid could be either straight or curved, and he used the
more specific term "straight line" when necessary.
Some important or well known results[edit]
-
Pythagorean theorem: The sum of the areas of the two squares on the legs (a and b) of a right triangle equals the area of the square on the hypotenuse (c).
Bridge of Asses[edit]
The Bridge of Asses (Pons Asinorum) states that
in isosceles triangles the angles at the base equal one another, and, if the
equal straight lines are produced further, then the angles under the base equal
one another.[13] Its name may
be attributed to its frequent role as the first real test in the Elements
of the intelligence of the reader and as a bridge to the harder propositions
that followed. It might also be so named because of the geometrical figure's
resemblance to a steep bridge that only a sure-footed donkey could cross.[14]
Congruence of triangles[edit]
Sum of the angles of a triangle acute, obtuse, and right angle limits[edit]
The sum of the angles
of a triangle is equal to a straight angle (180 degrees).[15] This causes an
equilateral triangle to have 3 interior angles of 60 degrees. Also, it causes
every triangle to have at least 2 acute angles and up to 1 obtuse or right angle.
Pythagorean theorem[edit]
The celebrated Pythagorean theorem (book I, proposition 47) states
that in any right triangle, the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse
(the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the
squares whose sides are the two legs (the two sides that meet at a right
angle).
Thales' theorem[edit]
Thales' theorem, named after
Thales of Miletus states that if A, B, and C are
points on a circle where the line AC is a diameter of the circle, then the angle
ABC is a right angle. Cantor supposed that Thales proved his theorem by means of
Euclid book I, prop 32 after the manner of Euclid book III, prop 31.[16] Tradition has
it that Thales sacrificed an ox to celebrate this theorem.[17]
Scaling of area and volume[edit]
In modern terminology,
the area of a plane figure is proportional to the square of any of its linear
dimensions, ,
and the volume of a solid to the cube, .
Euclid proved these results in various special cases such as the area of a
circle[18] and the volume
of a parallelepipedal solid.[19] Euclid
determined some, but not all, of the relevant constants of proportionality.
E.g., it was his successor Archimedes who proved that a sphere has 2/3 the
volume of the circumscribing cylinder.[20]
Applications[edit]
This section requires expansion. (March 2009) |
Because of Euclidean geometry's fundamental status in mathematics, it would be impossible to give more than a representative sampling of applications here.
-
A surveyor uses a Level
-
Sphere packing applies to a stack of oranges.
As suggested by the
etymology of the word, one of the earliest reasons for interest in geometry was
surveying,[21] and certain
practical results from Euclidean geometry, such as the right-angle property of
the 3-4-5 triangle, were used long before they were proved formally.[22] The
fundamental types of measurements in Euclidean geometry are distances and
angles, and both of these quantities can be measured directly by a surveyor.
Historically, distances were often measured by chains such as Gunter's chain, and angles
using graduated circles and, later, the theodolite.
An application of
Euclidean solid geometry is the determination of packing arrangements, such as the
problem of finding the most efficient packing of spheres in n dimensions. This problem
has applications in error detection and
correction.
Geometric optics uses
Euclidean geometry to analyze the focusing of light by lenses and mirrors.
Geometry is used in art and architecture.
Geometry is used
extensively in architecture.
Geometry can be used to
design origami. Some classical construction problems of
geometry are impossible using compass and straightedge,
but can be solved using origami.[23]
As a description of the structure of space[edit]
Euclid believed that
his axioms were self-evident statements about physical reality. Euclid's proofs
depend upon assumptions perhaps not obvious in Euclid's fundamental axioms,[24] in particular
that certain movements of figures do not change their geometrical properties
such as the lengths of sides and interior angles, the so-called Euclidean
motions, which include translations and rotations of figures.[25] Taken as a
physical description of space, postulate 2 (extending a line) asserts that space
does not have holes or boundaries (in other words, space is homogeneous and
unbounded); postulate 4 (equality of right angles) says that space is isotropic
and figures may be moved to any location while maintaining congruence; and
postulate 5 (the parallel postulate) that space is flat (has no intrinsic curvature).[26]
The ambiguous character
of the axioms as originally formulated by Euclid makes it possible for different
commentators to disagree about some of their other implications for the
structure of space, such as whether or not it is infinite[27] (see below)
and what its topology is. Modern, more
rigorous reformulations of the system[28] typically aim
for a cleaner separation of these issues. Interpreting Euclid's axioms in the
spirit of this more modern approach, axioms 1-4 are consistent with either
infinite or finite space (as in elliptic geometry), and all five axioms are
consistent with a variety of topologies (e.g., a plane, a cylinder, or a torus for two-dimensional Euclidean geometry).
Later work[edit]
Archimedes and Apollonius[edit]
Archimedes (ca. 287 BCE – ca. 212 BCE), a colorful
figure about whom many historical anecdotes are recorded, is remembered along
with Euclid as one of the greatest of ancient mathematicians. Although the
foundations of his work were put in place by Euclid, his work, unlike Euclid's,
is believed to have been entirely original.[29] He proved
equations for the volumes and areas of various figures in two and three
dimensions, and enunciated the Archimedean property of finite numbers.
Apollonius of Perga (ca. 262 BCE–ca. 190 BCE) is
mainly known for his investigation of conic sections.
17th century: Descartes[edit]
René Descartes (1596–1650)
developed analytic geometry, an alternative method for
formalizing geometry which focused on turning geometry into algebra.[30] In this
approach, a point is represented by its Cartesian (x,
y) coordinates, a line is represented by its equation, and so on. In
Euclid's original approach, the Pythagorean theorem follows from Euclid's axioms.
In the Cartesian approach, the axioms are the axioms of algebra, and the
equation expressing the Pythagorean theorem is then a definition of one of the
terms in Euclid's axioms, which are now considered theorems. The equation
defining the distance
between two points P = (p, q) and Q = (r,
s) is then known as the Euclidean metric, and other metrics define non-Euclidean
geometries.
Also in the 17th
century, Girard Desargues, motivated by the theory of perspective, introduced the
concept of idealized points, lines, and planes at infinity. The result can be
considered as a type of generalized geometry, projective geometry, but it can also be used to
produce proofs in ordinary Euclidean geometry in which the number of special
cases is reduced.[31]
18th century[edit]
Geometers of the 18th
century struggled to define the boundaries of the Euclidean system. Many tried
in vain to prove the fifth postulate from the first four. By 1763 at least 28
different proofs had been published, but all were found incorrect.[32]
Leading up to this
period, geometers also tried to determine what constructions could be
accomplished in Euclidean geometry. For example, the problem of trisecting an angle with a compass and straightedge
is one that naturally occurs within the theory, since the axioms refer to
constructive operations that can be carried out with those tools. However,
centuries of efforts failed to find a solution to this problem, until Pierre Wantzel published a
proof in 1837 that such a construction was impossible. Other constructions that
were proved impossible include doubling the cube and squaring the circle. In the case of doubling the
cube, the impossibility of the construction originates from the fact that the
compass and straightedge method involve first- and second-order equations, while
doubling a cube requires the solution of a third-order equation.
Euler discussed a
generalization of Euclidean geometry called affine geometry, which retains the fifth postulate
unmodified while weakening postulates three and four in a way that eliminates
the notions of angle (whence right triangles become meaningless) and of equality
of length of line segments in general (whence circles become meaningless) while
retaining the notions of parallelism as an equivalence relation between lines,
and equality of length of parallel line segments (so line segments continue to
have a midpoint).
19th century and non-Euclidean geometry[edit]
In the early 19th
century, Carnot and Möbius systematically
developed the use of signed angles and line segments as a way of simplifying and
unifying results.[33]
The century's most
significant development in geometry occurred when, around 1830, János Bolyai and Nikolai Ivanovich
Lobachevsky separately published work on non-Euclidean geometry, in
which the parallel postulate is not valid.[34] Since
non-Euclidean geometry is provably relatively consistent with Euclidean
geometry, the parallel postulate cannot be proved from the other postulates.
In the 19th century, it
was also realized that Euclid's ten axioms and common notions do not suffice to
prove all of theorems stated in the Elements. For example, Euclid assumed
implicitly that any line contains at least two points, but this assumption
cannot be proved from the other axioms, and therefore must be an axiom itself.
The very first geometric proof in the Elements, shown in the figure
above, is that any line segment is part of a triangle; Euclid constructs this in
the usual way, by drawing circles around both endpoints and taking their
intersection as the third vertex. His axioms, however, do not guarantee that
the circles actually intersect, because they do not assert the geometrical
property of continuity, which in Cartesian terms is equivalent to the completeness property of the
real numbers. Starting with Moritz Pasch in 1882, many improved axiomatic
systems for geometry have been proposed, the best known being those of Hilbert,[35] George Birkhoff,[36] and Tarski.[37]
20th century
and general relativity[edit]
Einstein's theory of general relativity shows that the true geometry of
spacetime is not Euclidean geometry.[38] For example,
if a triangle is constructed out of three rays of light, then in general the
interior angles do not add up to 180 degrees due to gravity. A relatively weak
gravitational field, such as the Earth's or the sun's, is represented by a
metric that is approximately, but not exactly, Euclidean. Until the 20th
century, there was no technology capable of detecting the deviations from
Euclidean geometry, but Einstein predicted that such deviations would exist.
They were later verified by observations such as the slight bending of starlight
by the Sun during a solar eclipse in 1919, and such considerations are now an
integral part of the software that runs the GPS system.[39] It is possible
to object to this interpretation of general relativity on the grounds that light
rays might be improper physical models of Euclid's lines, or that relativity
could be rephrased so as to avoid the geometrical interpretations. However, one
of the consequences of Einstein's theory is that there is no possible physical
test that can distinguish between a beam of light as a model of a geometrical
line and any other physical model. Thus, the only logical possibilities are to
accept non-Euclidean geometry as physically real, or to reject the entire notion
of physical tests of the axioms of geometry, which can then be imagined as a
formal system without any intrinsic real-world meaning.
Treatment of infinity[edit]
Infinite objects[edit]
Euclid sometimes
distinguished explicitly between "finite lines" (e.g., Postulate 2) and "infinite lines" (book I,
proposition 12). However, he typically did not make such distinctions unless
they were necessary. The postulates do not explicitly refer to infinite lines,
although for example some commentators interpret postulate 3, existence of a
circle with any radius, as implying that space is infinite.[27]
The notion of infinitesimally small quantities had previously
been discussed extensively by the Eleatic School, but nobody had been able to put
them on a firm logical basis, with paradoxes such as Zeno's paradox occurring
that had not been resolved to universal satisfaction. Euclid used the method of exhaustion rather than
infinitesimals.[40]
Later ancient
commentators such as Proclus (410–485 CE) treated many questions about
infinity as issues demanding proof and, e.g., Proclus claimed to prove the
infinite divisibility of a line, based on a proof by contradiction in which he
considered the cases of even and odd numbers of points constituting it.[41]
At the turn of the 20th
century, Otto Stolz, Paul du Bois-Reymond, Giuseppe Veronese, and others produced
controversial work on non-Archimedean models of Euclidean geometry, in
which the distance between two points may be infinite or infinitesimal, in the
Newton–Leibniz sense.[42] Fifty years
later, Abraham Robinson provided a rigorous logical
foundation for Veronese's work.[43]
Infinite processes[edit]
One reason that the
ancients treated the parallel postulate as less certain than the others is that
verifying it physically would require us to inspect two lines to check that they
never intersected, even at some very distant point, and this inspection could
potentially take an infinite amount of time.[44]
The modern formulation
of proof by induction was not developed until the 17th
century, but some later commentators consider it implicit in some of Euclid's
proofs, e.g., the proof of the infinitude of primes.[45]
Supposed paradoxes
involving infinite series, such as Zeno's paradox, predated Euclid. Euclid avoided
such discussions, giving, for example, the expression for the partial sums of
the geometric series in IX.35 without commenting on the
possibility of letting the number of terms become infinite.
Logical basis[edit]
|
This article needs attention from an expert in mathematics. (December 2010) |
This section requires expansion. (June 2010) |
Classical logic[edit]
Euclid frequently used
the method of proof by contradiction, and
therefore the traditional presentation of Euclidean geometry assumes classical logic, in which
every proposition is either true or false, i.e., for any proposition P, the
proposition "P or not P" is automatically true.
Modern standards of rigor[edit]
Placing Euclidean
geometry on a solid axiomatic basis was a preoccupation of mathematicians for
centuries.[46] The role of primitive notions, or
undefined concepts, was clearly put forward by Alessandro Padoa of the Peano delegation at the 1900 Paris conference:[46][47]
...when we begin to formulate the theory, we can imagine that the undefined
symbols are completely devoid of meaning and that the unproved
propositions are simply conditions imposed upon the undefined
symbols.
Then, the system of ideas that we have initially chosen is simply
one interpretation of the undefined symbols; but..this interpretation can
be ignored by the reader, who is free to replace it in his mind by another
interpretation.. that satisfies the conditions...The system of undefined symbols can then be regarded as the abstraction
obtained from the specialized theories that result when...the system of
undefined symbols is successively replaced by each of the interpretations...
—Padoa, Essai d'une théorie algébrique des
nombre entiers, avec une Introduction logique à une théorie déductive
qulelconque
That is, mathematics is
context-independent knowledge within a hierarchical framework. As said by
Bertrand Russell:[48]
If our hypothesis is about anything, and not about some one or more
particular things, then our deductions constitute mathematics. Thus, mathematics
may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about,
nor whether what we are saying is true.
—Bertrand Russell, Mathematics and the
metaphysicians
Such foundational
approaches range between foundationalism and formalism.
Axiomatic formulations[edit]
Geometry is the science of correct reasoning on incorrect figures.
—George Polyá, How to Solve It, p.
208
- Euclid's axioms: In
his dissertation to Trinity College, Cambridge, Bertrand Russell summarized the
changing role of Euclid's geometry in the minds of philosophers up to that
time.[49] It was a
conflict between certain knowledge, independent of experiment, and empiricism,
requiring experimental input. This issue became clear as it was discovered that
the parallel postulate was not necessarily valid and
its applicability was an empirical matter, deciding whether the applicable
geometry was Euclidean or non-Euclidean.
- Hilbert's axioms: Hilbert's
axioms had the goal of identifying a simple and complete set of
independent axioms from which the most important geometric theorems could
be deduced. The outstanding objectives were to make Euclidean geometry rigorous
(avoiding hidden assumptions) and to make clear the ramifications of the
parallel postulate.
- Birkhoff's axioms: Birkhoff proposed four
postulates for Euclidean geometry that can be confirmed experimentally with
scale and protractor.[50][51][52] The notions of
angle and distance become primitive concepts.[53]
- Tarski's axioms: Alfred Tarski (1902–1983)
and his students defined elementary Euclidean geometry as the geometry
that can be expressed in first-order logic and does not depend on set theory for its logical
basis,[54] in contrast to
Hilbert's axioms, which involve point sets.[55] Tarski proved
that his axiomatic formulation of elementary Euclidean geometry is consistent
and complete in a certain sense: there is an algorithm that, for every
proposition, can be shown either true or false.[37] (This doesn't
violate Gödel's theorem, because
Euclidean geometry cannot describe a sufficient amount of arithmetic for the theorem
to apply.[56]) This is
equivalent to the decidability of real closed fields, of which elementary Euclidean
geometry is a model.
Constructive
approaches and pedagogy[edit]
The process of abstract
axiomatization as exemplified by Hilbert's axioms reduces geometry to theorem
proving or predicate logic. In contrast, the Greeks used
construction postulates, and emphasized problem solving.[57] For the
Greeks, constructions are more primitive than existence propositions, and can be
used to prove existence propositions, but not vice versa. To describe
problem solving adequately requires a richer system of logical concepts.[57] The contrast
in approach may be summarized:[58]
- Axiomatic proof: Proofs are deductive derivations of propositions from
primitive premises that are ‘true’ in some sense. The aim is to justify the
proposition.
- Analytic proof: Proofs
are non-deductive derivations of hypotheses from problems. The aim is to find
hypotheses capable of giving a solution to the problem. One can argue that
Euclid's axioms were arrived upon in this manner. In particular, it is thought
that Euclid felt the parallel postulate was forced upon him, as
indicated by his reluctance to make use of it,[59] and his
arrival upon it by the method of contradiction.[60]
Andrei Nicholaevich
Kolmogorov proposed a problem solving basis for geometry.[61][62] This work was
a precursor of a modern formulation in terms of constructive type
theory.[63] This
development has implications for pedagogy as well.[64]
If proof simply follows conviction of truth rather than contributing to its
construction and is only experienced as a demonstration of something already
known to be true, it is likely to remain meaningless and purposeless in the eyes
of students.
—Celia Hoyles, The curricular shaping of
students' approach to proof
Wikipedia
Then, the system of ideas that we have initially chosen is simply one interpretation of the undefined symbols; but..this interpretation can be ignored by the reader, who is free to replace it in his mind by another interpretation.. that satisfies the conditions...The system of undefined symbols can then be regarded as the abstraction obtained from the specialized theories that result when...the system of undefined symbols is successively replaced by each of the interpretations...
—Padoa, Essai d'une théorie algébrique des
nombre entiers, avec une Introduction logique à une théorie déductive
qulelconque
That is, mathematics is
context-independent knowledge within a hierarchical framework. As said by
Bertrand Russell:[48]
If our hypothesis is about anything, and not about some one or more particular things, then our deductions constitute mathematics. Thus, mathematics may be defined as the subject in which we never know what we are talking about, nor whether what we are saying is true.
—Bertrand Russell, Mathematics and the metaphysicians
Such foundational
approaches range between foundationalism and formalism.
Axiomatic formulations[edit]
Geometry is the science of correct reasoning on incorrect figures.
—George Polyá, How to Solve It, p. 208
- Euclid's axioms: In his dissertation to Trinity College, Cambridge, Bertrand Russell summarized the changing role of Euclid's geometry in the minds of philosophers up to that time.[49] It was a conflict between certain knowledge, independent of experiment, and empiricism, requiring experimental input. This issue became clear as it was discovered that the parallel postulate was not necessarily valid and its applicability was an empirical matter, deciding whether the applicable geometry was Euclidean or non-Euclidean.
- Hilbert's axioms: Hilbert's axioms had the goal of identifying a simple and complete set of independent axioms from which the most important geometric theorems could be deduced. The outstanding objectives were to make Euclidean geometry rigorous (avoiding hidden assumptions) and to make clear the ramifications of the parallel postulate.
- Birkhoff's axioms: Birkhoff proposed four postulates for Euclidean geometry that can be confirmed experimentally with scale and protractor.[50][51][52] The notions of angle and distance become primitive concepts.[53]
- Tarski's axioms: Alfred Tarski (1902–1983) and his students defined elementary Euclidean geometry as the geometry that can be expressed in first-order logic and does not depend on set theory for its logical basis,[54] in contrast to Hilbert's axioms, which involve point sets.[55] Tarski proved that his axiomatic formulation of elementary Euclidean geometry is consistent and complete in a certain sense: there is an algorithm that, for every proposition, can be shown either true or false.[37] (This doesn't violate Gödel's theorem, because Euclidean geometry cannot describe a sufficient amount of arithmetic for the theorem to apply.[56]) This is equivalent to the decidability of real closed fields, of which elementary Euclidean geometry is a model.
Constructive approaches and pedagogy[edit]
The process of abstract
axiomatization as exemplified by Hilbert's axioms reduces geometry to theorem
proving or predicate logic. In contrast, the Greeks used
construction postulates, and emphasized problem solving.[57] For the
Greeks, constructions are more primitive than existence propositions, and can be
used to prove existence propositions, but not vice versa. To describe
problem solving adequately requires a richer system of logical concepts.[57] The contrast
in approach may be summarized:[58]
- Axiomatic proof: Proofs are deductive derivations of propositions from primitive premises that are ‘true’ in some sense. The aim is to justify the proposition.
- Analytic proof: Proofs are non-deductive derivations of hypotheses from problems. The aim is to find hypotheses capable of giving a solution to the problem. One can argue that Euclid's axioms were arrived upon in this manner. In particular, it is thought that Euclid felt the parallel postulate was forced upon him, as indicated by his reluctance to make use of it,[59] and his arrival upon it by the method of contradiction.[60]
Andrei Nicholaevich
Kolmogorov proposed a problem solving basis for geometry.[61][62] This work was
a precursor of a modern formulation in terms of constructive type
theory.[63] This
development has implications for pedagogy as well.[64]
If proof simply follows conviction of truth rather than contributing to its construction and is only experienced as a demonstration of something already known to be true, it is likely to remain meaningless and purposeless in the eyes of students.
—Celia Hoyles, The curricular shaping of students' approach to proof Wikipedia
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기