Formal and Informal Proof
The informal proofs of everyday mathematical practice are unlike the formal proofs of proof theory. They are rather like high-level sketches that would allow an expert to reconstruct a formal proof at least in principle, given enough time and patience. For most mathematicians, writing a fully formal proof is too pedantic and long-winded to be in common use.
Formal proofs are constructed with the help of computers in interactive theorem proving. Significantly, these proofs can be checked automatically, also by computer. (Checking formal proofs is usually simple, whereas finding proofs (automated theorem proving) is generally hard.) An informal proof in the mathematics literature, by contrast, requires weeks of peer review to be checked, and may still contain errors.
Read more about this topic: Proof Theory
Famous quotes containing the words formal, informal and/or proof:
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—Jane Austen (1775–1817)
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—James P. Comer (20th century)
“To cease to admire is a proof of deterioration.”
—Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)