Reductio ad Absurdum

Reductio ad Absurdum means Reduce it to the Ridiculous. To prove something true, pretend the opposite is true for a second. Then show that if the opposite were true, something crazy and impossible would happen! For example, to prove it is daytime, pretend it is night. But if it were night, the sky would be dark, and since the sky is bright, it must be day. It is winning an argument by showing how silly the other side is.

Assume the opposite. Watch it explode. Therefore your original claim stands. Prove truth by disproving its shadow.

Proof by Contradiction: if P implies falsehood, then not-P must be true. One of the most powerful mathematical tools, famously proving sqrt(2) is irrational. Relates to the Socratic Method: questions leading to contradiction reveal the falsity of the initial position.

SOUND: A loud, funny slide whistle sound.

SMELL: The smell of something fishy: when you know a story does not fit.

TASTE: Orange juice right after brushing teeth: something is off.

TOUCH: Trying to push two magnets together when they repel.

SIGHT: A find-the-mistake picture where a cat has five legs.

BODY: Trying to walk through a doorway that is painted on a wall.

Music: Keep Breathing by Ingrid Michaelson

Part of Logic & Proof — MATHEMATICS — Education Revelation