99 Variations on a Proof
by Philip Ording · first published 2019
6mentions
2recommended by
4HN commenters
2022–2026first – last mentioned
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…get someone with minimal math background started with the basics of pure math. Becoming comfortable with proofs happens along the way. https://infinitedescent.xyz/ Lately, I have also really enjoyed 99 Variations on a Proof by Philip Ording, which is not a textbook. Rather it is an Exercises in Style type book that explores many different ways to express a mathematical proof of the same simple fact. Some of the proofs are…
on “Ask HN: How to learn mathematical proofs from scratch?” ↗…to explain to family and friends who practically flinch when I tell them I studied math. If you connected with this essay (or, perhaps, if you did not), I highly recommend checking out a book called 99 Variations on a Proof, by Philip Ording. It is an enjoyable, easy to understand journey through the art of making a mathematical argument by way of showing the many forms such an argument can take. https://www.amazon.com/99-Variations-Proof-Philip-Ording/dp/...
on “A Mathematician's Lament [pdf]” ↗> 99 Variations on a Proof Thank you, I really enjoyed this so far. Probably going to read one per day or so and then think about it.
on “Ask HN: How to learn mathematical proofs from scratch?” ↗Hadn't seen The Cauchy-Schwartz Masterclass, but after a quick glance around, it seems to be very different from 99 Variations on a Proof. The book I'm recommending is pretty far from a textbook. Rather it is an Exercises in Style type book that explores many different ways to express a mathematical proof of the same simple fact. Some…
on “A Mathematician's Lament [pdf]” ↗I'm reading two things at the same time 99 Variations on a Proof https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691158839/99... and the newly published paper Draft, Sketch, and Prove: Guiding Formal Theorem Provers With Informal Proofs https://arxiv.org/pdf/2210.12283.pdf…
on “Ask HN: Proof Irrelevance and De Morgan's Laws” ↗https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Variations_on_a_Proof
on “AI Risks "Hypernormal" Science” ↗