Intro to Logic and Proofs

William Joe McCann

Chapter 1: Logic

Logic is defined as the study of “reasoning conducted according to principles of strict validity”. When we study logic, we are studying things that we know to be true or false and seeing how that impacts the framework of our world.

Practically, studying logic in mathematical sense is what is used to correctly argue your points in a way that cannot be refuted. Should you want to win internet debates, or attempt to win debates against your partner, a strong sense of logical flow and direction is necessary. Similarly, people who are good at making both logical progressions, and making false logical progressions that seem legit are both good lawyers and politicians. For a computer science student, you will come to see that practically, logic and proof writing is a lot like coding and algorithm design.

Logic very much is the foundation of all of mathematics, which is why it is usually a good place to begin. Anything that is ever discovered or invented in math needs to first be proven using the principles taught here. Be careful about your assumptions, lest you end up like Gottlob Frege working on stuff that is unfortunately flawed.