Universität Wien
Course Exam

180121 VO-L What ist math? (2012W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 18 - Philosophie

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Examination topics

Examples of proofs. Indirect proofs. Proofs by induction. Examples of fallacious proofs. The pitfalls of intuition. The idea of a formal proof.
Mathematics and infinity. The continuum.
The notions of limits, examples of differentiation and integration, maxima and minima.
The mathematization of logic. Russell, Gödel and Turing. Computers, algorithms and their limits.
Mathematics and probability. Statistical fallacies.
Mathematics and the concept of number.
Geometry. The Euclidean postulate. The variety of geometries. The notion of dimension.
Some important steps in the historical development. Foundational crises from Zeno to Lakatos.
Mathematical riddles, mathematical recreations, and open problems
Game theory, social models, voting paradoxes
The structure of mathematics, its astonishing efficiency
Views of mathematics from the outside, as provided by school or media

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:36