Bernard R. Gelbaum John M.H. Olmsted Theorems and Counterexamples in Mathematics With 24 Illustrations @ Springer-Verlag New York Berlin Heidelberg London Paris Tokyo Hong Kong Barcelona BudapestBernard R. Gelbaum John M.H. Olmsted Department of Mathematics Department of Mathematics State University of New York Southern Illinois University at Buffalo Carbondale, Illinois 62901 Buffalo, New York 14214-3093 USA USA Editor Paul R. Halmos Department of Mathematics Santa Clara University Santa Clara, California 95053, USA Mathematical Subject Classifications: 00A07 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gelbaum, Bernard R. Theorems and counterexamples in mathematics / Bernard R. Gelbaum, John M.H. Olmsted. p. cm — (Problem books in mathematics) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Mathematics. 1. Olmsted, John Meigs Hubbell, 1911- Hl. Title. III. Series. QA36.G45 1990 510—de20 90-9899 clip Printed on acid-free paper © 1990 Springer-Verlag New York Inc. Alll rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereaf- ter developed is forbidden. The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, etc., in this publication, even if the former are not especially identified, is not to be taken as a sign that such names, as understood by the Trade Marks and Merchandise Marks Act, may accordingly be used freely by anyone. Photocomposed copy prepared by the authors using TeX. Printed and bound by R.R. Donnelly & Sons, Harrisonburg, Virginia. Printed in the United States of America. 98765432 (Second corrected printing) ISBN 0-387-97342-7 Springer-Verlag New York Berlin Heidelberg ISBN 3-540-97342-7 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New YorkPREFACE The gratifying response to Countereramples in analysis (CEA) was followed, when the book went out of print, by expressions of dismay from those who were unable to acquire it. The connection of the present volume with CEA is clear, although the sights here are set higher. In the quarter-century since the appearance of CEA, mathematical education has taken some large steps reflected in both the undergraduate and graduate curricula. What was once taken as very new, remote, or arcane is now a well-established part of mathematical study and discourse. Consequently the approach here is designed to match the observed progress. The contents are intended to provide graduate and ad- vanced undergraduate students as well as the general mathematical public with a modern treatment of some theorems and examples that constitute a rounding out and elaboration of the standard parts of algebra, analysis, geometry, logic, probability, set theory, and topology. The items included are presented in the spirit of a conversation among mathematicians who know the language but are interested in some of the ramifications of the subjects with which they routinely deal. Although such an approach might be construed as demanding, there is an extensive GLOSSARY/INDEX where all but the most familiar notions are clearly defined and explained. The object of the body of the text is more to enhance what the reader already knows than to review definitions and notations that have become part of every mathematician’s working context. Thus terms such as complete metric space, o-ring, Hamel basis, linear programming, [logical] consistency, undecidability, Cauchy net, stochastic independence, etc. are often used without further comment, in which case they are italicized to indicate that they are carefully defined and explained in the GLOSSARY /INDEX. The presentation of the material in the book follows the pattern below: A definition is provided either in the text proper or in the GLOS- SARY/INDEX. The term or concept defined is usually italicized at some point in the text. ii. A THEOREM for which proofs can be found in most textbooks and monographs is stated often without proof and always with at least one reference. A result that has not yet been expounded in a textbook or monograph is given with at least one reference and, as space permits, with a proof, an outline of a proof, or with no proof at all. iv Validation of a counterexample is provided in one of three ways: a. As an Exercise (with a Hint if more than a routine calculation is involved). b. As an Example and, as space permits, with a proof, an outline tit