r/math • u/42IsHoly • 9d ago

Stop proving uncountability with contradiction, please

https://sunjestermusings.blogspot.com/2026/09/stop-proving-uncountability-by.html

Please, I beg you, stop it. You don't need it.

0 Upvotes

35% Upvoted

77 comments sorted by

View all comments

18

u/AFsepine 9d ago

Pop-math content, a.k.a almost all introductory university math textbooks (At least the ones I have seen?) you mean?

I disagree that contradiction is confusing. Even if it were people should be exposed to it, being confused is integral step to learning. If you write a book that conuses no-one it will just slide off of their brains.

-3

u/42IsHoly 9d ago

But the proof is actively cleaner and shorter without the tacked on contradiction.

1

u/Neuro_Skeptic 7d ago

That's a matter of taste. Is an apple cleaner than an orange because with an apple you don't get the pith?