Mathematics and Logic
Set theory is described as naive if it uses natural language rather than rigorous definition to describe operations on sets. It was created by Georg Cantor and formalised by Gottlob Frege in his Begriffsschrift, and is the normal introduction to set theory, from which the vast majority of mathematics never departs. However it suffers from several related paradoxes such as Russel's paradox.
Read more about this topic: Naivete
Famous quotes containing the words mathematics and/or logic:
“In mathematics he was greater
Than Tycho Brahe, or Erra Pater:
For he, by geometric scale,
Could take the size of pots of ale;
Resolve, by sines and tangents straight,
If bread and butter wanted weight;
And wisely tell what hour o’ th’ day
The clock doth strike, by algebra.”
—Samuel Butler (1612–1680)
“The usefulness of madmen is famous: they demonstrate society’s logic flagrantly carried out down to its last scrimshaw scrap.”
—Cynthia Ozick (b. 1928)