Hi I don't know what it is that I'm not getting where mathematical induction is concerned. This is relevant to Haskell so I wonder if any of you gents could explain in unambiguous terms the concept please. The wikipedia article offers perhaps the least obfuscated definition I've found so far but I would still like more clarity. The idea is to move onto inductive proof in Haskell. First, however, I need to understand the general mathematical concept.
Top marks for clarity and explanation of technical terms. Thanks Paul
Induction -> from the small picture, extrapolate the big Deduction -> from the big picture, extrapolate the small
Thus, in traditional logic, if you induce "all apples are red", simple observation of a single non-red apple quickly reduces your result to "at least one apple is not red on one side, all others may be red", i.e, you can't deduce "all apples are red" with your samples anymore.
Paul: surely, you wouldn't come up with an incorrect premise like "all apples are red" in the first place. Sorry, still none the wiser Cheers, Paul