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Robbins Algebra
In abstract algebra, a Robbins algebra is an algebra containing a single binary operation, usually denoted by \lor, and a single unary operation usually denoted by \neg. These operations satisfy the following axioms: For all elements ''a'', ''b'', and ''c'': # Associativity: a \lor \left(b \lor c \right) = \left(a \lor b \right) \lor c # Commutativity: a \lor b = b \lor a # ''Robbins equation'': \neg \left( \neg \left(a \lor b \right) \lor \neg \left(a \lor \neg b \right) \right) = a For many years, it was conjectured, but unproven, that all Robbins algebras are Boolean algebras. This was proved in 1996, so the term "Robbins algebra" is now simply a synonym for "Boolean algebra". History In 1933, Edward Huntington proposed a new set of axioms for Boolean algebras, consisting of (1) and (2) above, plus: *''Huntington's equation'': \neg(\neg a \lor b) \lor \neg(\neg a \lor \neg b) = a. From these axioms, Huntington derived the usual axioms of Boolean algebra. Very soon thereafte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abstract Algebra
In mathematics, more specifically algebra, abstract algebra or modern algebra is the study of algebraic structures. Algebraic structures include groups, rings, fields, modules, vector spaces, lattices, and algebras over a field. The term ''abstract algebra'' was coined in the early 20th century to distinguish this area of study from older parts of algebra, and more specifically from elementary algebra, the use of variables to represent numbers in computation and reasoning. Algebraic structures, with their associated homomorphisms, form mathematical categories. Category theory is a formalism that allows a unified way for expressing properties and constructions that are similar for various structures. Universal algebra is a related subject that studies types of algebraic structures as single objects. For example, the structure of groups is a single object in universal algebra, which is called the ''variety of groups''. History Before the nineteenth century, algebra meant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Tarski
Alfred Tarski (, born Alfred Teitelbaum;School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews ''School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews''. January 14, 1901 – October 26, 1983) was a Polish-American logician and mathematician. A prolific author best known for his work on model theory, metamathematics, and algebraic logic, he also contributed to abstract algebra, topology, geometry, measure theory, mathematical logic, set theory, and analytic philosophy. Educated in Poland at the University of Warsaw, and a member of the Lwów–Warsaw school of logic and the Warsaw school of mathematics, he immigrated to the United States in 1939 where he became a naturalized citizen in 1945. Tarski taught and carried out research in mathematics at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1942 until his death in 1983. Feferman A. His biographers Anita Burdman Feferman and Solomon Feferman state that, "Along with his contemporary, Kurt Gödel, he cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boolean Algebra
In mathematics and mathematical logic, Boolean algebra is a branch of algebra. It differs from elementary algebra in two ways. First, the values of the variables are the truth values ''true'' and ''false'', usually denoted 1 and 0, whereas in elementary algebra the values of the variables are numbers. Second, Boolean algebra uses logical operators such as conjunction (''and'') denoted as ∧, disjunction (''or'') denoted as ∨, and the negation (''not'') denoted as ¬. Elementary algebra, on the other hand, uses arithmetic operators such as addition, multiplication, subtraction and division. So Boolean algebra is a formal way of describing logical operations, in the same way that elementary algebra describes numerical operations. Boolean algebra was introduced by George Boole in his first book ''The Mathematical Analysis of Logic'' (1847), and set forth more fully in his '' An Investigation of the Laws of Thought'' (1854). According to Huntington, the term "Boolean algebra" wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minimal Axioms For Boolean Algebra
In mathematical logic, minimal axioms for Boolean algebra are assumptions which are equivalent to the axioms of Boolean algebra (or propositional calculus), chosen to be as short as possible. For example, if one chooses to take commutativity for granted, an axiom with six NAND operations and three variables is equivalent to Boolean algebra : : ((a\mid b)\mid c) \mid (a\mid((a\mid c)\mid a)) = c where the vertical bar represents the NAND logical operation (also known as the Sheffer stroke). It is one of 25 candidate axioms for this property identified by Stephen Wolfram, by enumerating the Sheffer identities of length less or equal to 15 elements (excluding mirror images) that have no noncommutative models with four or fewer variables, and was first proven equivalent by William McCune, Branden Fitelson, and Larry Wos. MathWorld, a site associated with Wolfram, has named the axiom the "Wolfram axiom". McCune et al. also found a longer single axiom for Boolean algebra based on disjun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algebraic Structure
In mathematics, an algebraic structure consists of a nonempty set ''A'' (called the underlying set, carrier set or domain), a collection of operations on ''A'' (typically binary operations such as addition and multiplication), and a finite set of identities, known as axioms, that these operations must satisfy. An algebraic structure may be based on other algebraic structures with operations and axioms involving several structures. For instance, a vector space involves a second structure called a field, and an operation called ''scalar multiplication'' between elements of the field (called '' scalars''), and elements of the vector space (called '' vectors''). Abstract algebra is the name that is commonly given to the study of algebraic structures. The general theory of algebraic structures has been formalized in universal algebra. Category theory is another formalization that includes also other mathematical structures and functions between structures of the same type (homomor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equational Prover
{{about, automated theorem proving, the complexity class named EQP, EQP (complexity) EQP, an abbreviation for equational prover, is an automated theorem proving program for equational logic, developed by the Mathematics and Computer Science Division of the Argonne National Laboratory. It was one of the provers used for solving a longstanding problem posed by Herbert Robbins, namely, whether all Robbins algebras are Boolean algebra In mathematics and mathematical logic, Boolean algebra is a branch of algebra. It differs from elementary algebra in two ways. First, the values of the variables are the truth values ''true'' and ''false'', usually denoted 1 and 0, whereas in e ...s. External links EQP project Robbins Algebras Are Boolean Argonne National Laboratory, Mathematics and Computer Science Division Theorem proving software systems ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Automated Theorem Proving
Automated theorem proving (also known as ATP or automated deduction) is a subfield of automated reasoning and mathematical logic dealing with proving mathematical theorems by computer programs. Automated reasoning over mathematical proof was a major impetus for the development of computer science. Logical foundations While the roots of formalised logic go back to Aristotle, the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries saw the development of modern logic and formalised mathematics. Frege's ''Begriffsschrift'' (1879) introduced both a complete propositional calculus and what is essentially modern predicate logic. His ''Foundations of Arithmetic'', published 1884, expressed (parts of) mathematics in formal logic. This approach was continued by Russell and Whitehead in their influential ''Principia Mathematica'', first published 1910–1913, and with a revised second edition in 1927. Russell and Whitehead thought they could derive all mathematical truth using axioms and inference ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William McCune
William Walker McCune (December 17, 1953 – May 2, 2011) was an American computer scientist and logician working in the fields of automated reasoning, algebra, logic, and formal methods. He was best known for the development of the Otter, Prover9, and Mace4 automated reasoning systems, and the automated proof of the Robbins conjecture In abstract algebra, a Robbins algebra is an algebra containing a single binary operation, usually denoted by \lor, and a single unary operation usually denoted by \neg. These operations satisfy the following axioms: For all elements ''a'', ''b'', ... using the EQP theorem prover. In 2000, McCune received the Herbrand Award for Distinguished Contributions to Automated Reasoning. In 2013, ''Automated Reasoning and Mathematics - Essays in Memory of William W. McCune'' was published in his honour. References External links Prover9 softwareWilliam McCune home pageUpdated version of Prover9 software 2011 deaths 1953 births American comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbert Robbins
Herbert Ellis Robbins (January 12, 1915 – February 12, 2001) was an American mathematician and statistician. He did research in topology, measure theory, statistics, and a variety of other fields. He was the co-author, with Richard Courant, of '' What is Mathematics?'', a popularization that is still () in print. The Robbins lemma, used in empirical Bayes methods, is named after him. Robbins algebras are named after him because of a conjecture (since proved) that he posed concerning Boolean algebras. The Robbins theorem, in graph theory, is also named after him, as is the Whitney–Robbins synthesis, a tool he introduced to prove this theorem. The well-known unsolved problem of minimizing in sequential selection the expected rank of the selected item under full information, sometimes referred to as the fourth secretary problem, also bears his name: Robbins' problem (of optimal stopping). Biography Robbins was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania. As an undergraduate, Rob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universal Algebra
Universal algebra (sometimes called general algebra) is the field of mathematics that studies algebraic structures themselves, not examples ("models") of algebraic structures. For instance, rather than take particular groups as the object of study, in universal algebra one takes the class of groups as an object of study. Basic idea In universal algebra, an algebra (or algebraic structure) is a set ''A'' together with a collection of operations on ''A''. An ''n''- ary operation on ''A'' is a function that takes ''n'' elements of ''A'' and returns a single element of ''A''. Thus, a 0-ary operation (or ''nullary operation'') can be represented simply as an element of ''A'', or a '' constant'', often denoted by a letter like ''a''. A 1-ary operation (or ''unary operation'') is simply a function from ''A'' to ''A'', often denoted by a symbol placed in front of its argument, like ~''x''. A 2-ary operation (or ''binary operation'') is often denoted by a symbol placed between its argum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Huntington
Edward Vermilye Huntington (April 26, 1874November 25, 1952) was an American mathematician. Biography Huntington was awarded the B.A. and the M.A. by Harvard University in 1895 and 1897, respectively. After two years' teaching at Williams College, he began a doctorate at the University of Strasbourg, which was awarded in 1901. He then spent his entire career at Harvard, retiring in 1941. He taught in the engineering school, becoming Professor of Mechanics in 1919. Although Huntington's research was mainly in pure mathematics, he valued teaching mathematics to engineering students. He advocated mechanical calculators and had one in his office. He had an interest in statistics, unusual for the time, and worked on statistical problems for the USA military during World War I. Huntington's primary research interest was the foundations of mathematics. He was one of the "American postulate theorists" (according to Michael Scanlan, the expression is due to John Corcoran), American mathem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boolean Algebra (structure)
In abstract algebra, a Boolean algebra or Boolean lattice is a complemented distributive lattice. This type of algebraic structure captures essential properties of both set operations and logic operations. A Boolean algebra can be seen as a generalization of a power set algebra or a field of sets, or its elements can be viewed as generalized truth values. It is also a special case of a De Morgan algebra and a Kleene algebra (with involution). Every Boolean algebra gives rise to a Boolean ring, and vice versa, with ring multiplication corresponding to conjunction or meet ∧, and ring addition to exclusive disjunction or symmetric difference (not disjunction ∨). However, the theory of Boolean rings has an inherent asymmetry between the two operators, while the axioms and theorems of Boolean algebra express the symmetry of the theory described by the duality principle. __TOC__ History The term "Boolean algebra" honors George Boole (1815–1864), a self-educated English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
