logic A method of proving statements about
well-orderedsets. If S is a well-ordered set with ordering "#@", and we
want to show that a property P holds for every element of S,
it is sufficient to show that, for all s in S,
IF for all t in S, t s = P(t) THEN P(s)
I.e. if P holds for anything less than s then it holds for s.
In this case we say P is proved by induction.
The most common instance of proof by induction is induction
holds for n=0 and that if it holds for n, it holds for n+1.
(1999-12-09)