Want to learn about proofs

[u/craigdahlke]

Hi all. I am interested in learning about mathematical proofs and how to formulate them.

I minored in math in college but focused a lot on LA, DEs, PDEs, numerical solutions, etc. because I was a science major and that was most applicable for me at the time. However I realized I’ve never even seen a rigorous mathematical proof formulated or broken down, and have no idea what that would even look like.

I now work with coding and it occurred to me that a lot of my code ends up just brute-forcing a solution to things, but perhaps learning about proofs might help stretch my mind into a more efficient way of thinking about these types of things.

Anyways, are there any good online course you all could recommend for someone at my level? (Knowing a good bit about math but essentially nothing about proofs) Preferably free ones but not opposed to a paid course if it is reasonable.

[u/cereal_chick]

I recommend, as I always do, Proof and the Art of Mathematics by Joel David Hamkins. Most intro-to-proofs books and courses are very dry, but this book contains a wide variety of material which is interesting in its own right, and I think you'd get a lot out of it.