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Counterexample
A counterexample is any exception to a generalization. In logic a counterexample disproves the generalization, and does so rigorously in the fields of mathematics and philosophy. For example, the fact that "student John Smith is not lazy" is a counterexample to the generalization "students are lazy", and both a counterexample to, and disproof of, the universal quantification "all students are lazy." In mathematics In mathematics, counterexamples are often used to prove the boundaries of possible theorems. By using counterexamples to show that certain conjectures are false, mathematical researchers can then avoid going down blind alleys and learn to modify conjectures to produce provable theorems. It is sometimes said that mathematical development consists primarily in finding (and proving) theorems and counterexamples. Rectangle example Suppose that a mathematician is studying geometry and shapes, and she wishes to prove certain theorems about them. She conjectures that "All re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Witsenhausen's Counterexample
Witsenhausen's counterexample, shown in the figure below, is a deceptively simple toy problem in distributed control system, decentralized stochastic control. It was formulated by Hans witsenhausen, Hans Witsenhausen in 1968. It is a counterexample to a natural conjecture that one can generalize a key result of centralized linear–quadratic–Gaussian control systems—that in a system with linear dynamics, Gaussian disturbance, and quadratic cost, affine (linear) control laws are optimal—to decentralized systems. Witsenhausen constructed a two-stage linear quadratic Gaussian system where two decisions are made by decision makers with decentralized information and showed that for this system, there exist nonlinear control laws that outperform all linear laws. The problem of finding the optimal control law remains unsolved.Ho, Yu-Chi, "Review of the Witsenhausen problem". ''Proceedings of the 47th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC)'', pp. 1611–1613, 2008. Statement o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Euler's Sum Of Powers Conjecture
In number theory, Euler's conjecture is a disproved conjecture related to Fermat's Last Theorem. It was proposed by Leonhard Euler in 1769. It states that for all integers and greater than 1, if the sum of many th powers of positive integers is itself a th power, then is greater than or equal to : a_1^k + a_2^k + \dots + a_n^k = b^k \implies n \ge k The conjecture represents an attempt to generalize Fermat's Last Theorem, which is the special case : if a_1^k + a_2^k = b^k, then . Although the conjecture holds for the case (which follows from Fermat's Last Theorem for the third powers), it was disproved for and . It is unknown whether the conjecture fails or holds for any value . Background Euler was aware of the equality involving sums of four fourth powers; this, however, is not a counterexample because no term is isolated on one side of the equation. He also provided a complete solution to the four cubes problem as in Plato's number or the taxicab number 1729. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Seifert Conjecture
In mathematics, the Seifert conjecture states that every nonsingular, continuous vector field on the 3-sphere has a closed orbit. It is named after Herbert Seifert. In a 1950 paper, Seifert asked if such a vector field exists, but did not phrase non-existence as a conjecture. He also established the conjecture for perturbations of the Hopf fibration. The conjecture was disproven in 1974 by Paul Schweitzer, who exhibited a C^1 counterexample. Schweitzer's construction was then modified by Jenny Harrison Jenny Harrison is a professor of mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley. Education and early career Harrison grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama. Awarded a Marshall S ... in 1988 to make a C^ counterexample for some \delta > 0. The existence of smoother counterexamples remained an open question until 1993 when Krystyna Kuperberg constructed a very different C^\infty counterexample. Later this cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Generalization
A generalization is a form of abstraction whereby common properties of specific instances are formulated as general concepts or claims. Generalizations posit the existence of a domain or set of elements, as well as one or more common characteristics shared by those elements (thus creating a conceptual model). As such, they are the essential basis of all valid deductive inferences (particularly in logic, mathematics and science), where the process of verification is necessary to determine whether a generalization holds true for any given situation. Generalization can also be used to refer to the process of identifying the parts of a whole, as belonging to the whole. The parts, which might be unrelated when left on their own, may be brought together as a group, hence belonging to the whole by establishing a common relation between them. However, the parts cannot be generalized into a whole—until a common relation is established among ''all'' parts. This does not mean that the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Natural Number
In mathematics, the natural numbers are the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, and so on, possibly excluding 0. Some start counting with 0, defining the natural numbers as the non-negative integers , while others start with 1, defining them as the positive integers Some authors acknowledge both definitions whenever convenient. Sometimes, the whole numbers are the natural numbers as well as zero. In other cases, the ''whole numbers'' refer to all of the integers, including negative integers. The counting numbers are another term for the natural numbers, particularly in primary education, and are ambiguous as well although typically start at 1. The natural numbers are used for counting things, like "there are ''six'' coins on the table", in which case they are called ''cardinal numbers''. They are also used to put things in order, like "this is the ''third'' largest city in the country", which are called ''ordinal numbers''. Natural numbers are also used as labels, like Number (sports), jersey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Squeeze Mapping
In linear algebra, a squeeze mapping, also called a squeeze transformation, is a type of linear map that preserves Euclidean area of regions in the Cartesian plane, but is ''not'' a rotation (mathematics), rotation or shear mapping. For a fixed positive real number , the mapping :(x, y) \mapsto (ax, y/a) is the ''squeeze mapping'' with parameter . Since :\ is a hyperbola, if and , then and the points of the image of the squeeze mapping are on the same hyperbola as is. For this reason it is natural to think of the squeeze mapping as a hyperbolic rotation, as did Émile Borel in 1914, by analogy with ''circular rotations'', which preserve circles. Logarithm and hyperbolic angle The squeeze mapping sets the stage for development of the concept of logarithms. The problem of finding the area bounded by a hyperbola (such as is one of quadrature (mathematics), quadrature. The solution, found by Grégoire de Saint-Vincent and Alphonse Antonio de Sarasa in 1647, required the natura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Shear Mapping
In plane geometry, a shear mapping is an affine transformation that displaces each point in a fixed direction by an amount proportional to its signed distance function, signed distance from a given straight line, line parallel (geometry), parallel to that direction. This type of mapping is also called shear transformation, transvection, or just shearing. The transformations can be applied with a shear matrix or transvection, an elementary matrix that represents the Elementary row operations#Row-addition transformations, addition of a multiple of one row or column to another. Such a matrix (mathematics), matrix may be derived by taking the identity matrix and replacing one of the zero elements with a non-zero value. An example is the linear map that takes any point with Cartesian coordinates, coordinates (x,y) to the point (x + 2y,y). In this case, the displacement is horizontal by a factor of 2 where the fixed line is the -axis, and the signed distance is the -coordinate. Not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Converse (logic)
In logic and mathematics, the converse of a categorical or implicational statement is the result of reversing its two constituent statements. For the Material conditional, implication ''P'' → ''Q'', the converse is ''Q'' → ''P''. For the categorical proposition ''All S are P'', the converse is ''All P are S''. Either way, the truth of the converse is generally independent from that of the original statement.Robert Audi, ed. (1999), ''The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy'', 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press: "converse". Implicational converse Let ''S'' be a statement of the form ''P implies Q'' (''P'' → ''Q''). Then the ''converse'' of ''S'' is the statement ''Q implies P'' (''Q'' → ''P''). In general, the truth of ''S'' says nothing about the truth of its converse, unless the Antecedent (logic), antecedent ''P'' and the consequent ''Q'' are logically equivalent. For example, consider the true statement "If I am a human, then I am mortal." The converse of that stateme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Area
Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-dimensional object. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat. It is the two-dimensional analogue of the length of a curve (a one-dimensional concept) or the volume of a solid (a three-dimensional concept). Two different regions may have the same area (as in squaring the circle); by synecdoche, "area" sometimes is used to refer to the region, as in a " polygonal area". The area of a shape can be measured by comparing the shape to squares of a fixed size. In the International System of Units (SI), the standard unit of area is the square metre (written as m2), which is the area o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Euclidean Plane Isometries
In geometry, a Euclidean plane isometry is an isometry of the Euclidean plane, or more informally, a way of transforming the plane that preserves geometrical properties such as length. There are four types: translations, rotations, reflections, and glide reflections (see below ). The set of Euclidean plane isometries forms a group under composition: the Euclidean group in two dimensions. It is generated by reflections in lines, and every element of the Euclidean group is the composite of at most three distinct reflections. Informal discussion Informally, a Euclidean plane isometry is any way of transforming the plane without "deforming" it. For example, suppose that the Euclidean plane is represented by a sheet of transparent plastic sitting on a desk. Examples of isometries include: * Shifting the sheet one inch to the right. * Rotating the sheet by ten degrees around some marked point (which remains motionless). * Turning the sheet over to look at it from behind. Notice that i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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State Variable
A state variable is one of the set of Variable (mathematics), variables that are used to describe the mathematical "state" of a dynamical system. Intuitively, the state of a system describes enough about the system to determine its future behaviour in the absence of any external forces affecting the system. Models that consist of coupled first-order differential equations are said to be in state-variable form. Examples *In mechanics, mechanical systems, the position coordinates and Velocity, velocities of mechanical parts are typical state variables; knowing these, it is possible to determine the future state of the objects in the system. *In thermodynamics, a state variable is an independent variable of a state function. Examples include internal energy, enthalpy, thermodynamic temperature, temperature, pressure, volume and entropy. Heat and Work (Thermodynamics), work are not state functions, but process functions. *In electronics, electronic/electrical circuits, the voltages ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Loss Function
In mathematical optimization and decision theory, a loss function or cost function (sometimes also called an error function) is a function that maps an event or values of one or more variables onto a real number intuitively representing some "cost" associated with the event. An optimization problem seeks to minimize a loss function. An objective function is either a loss function or its opposite (in specific domains, variously called a reward function, a profit function, a utility function, a fitness function, etc.), in which case it is to be maximized. The loss function could include terms from several levels of the hierarchy. In statistics, typically a loss function is used for parameter estimation, and the event in question is some function of the difference between estimated and true values for an instance of data. The concept, as old as Pierre-Simon Laplace, Laplace, was reintroduced in statistics by Abraham Wald in the middle of the 20th century. In the context of economi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |