IN TU I T IO N, P R OO F A N D

CE R TA IN TY
, LA NZ LOUIE D. B SA BE- 1
ALAMO
INTUITION
THE ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND SOMETHING IMMEDIATELY, WITHOUT THE NEED FOR CONSCIOUS REASONING
(AUROBINDO, 2014)
IT IS A PERSON’S SIXTH SENSE.
DIMENSIONS OF INTUITION
1. INTUITIVE JUDGEMENT
2. INTUITIVE INSIGHT
 DIMENSIONS
INTUITIVE JUDGEMENT
• A DECISION REACHED ON THE BASIS OF
SUBJECTIVE FEELINGS THAT CANNOT EASILY BE
ARTICULATED AND MAY NOT BE FULLY
CONSCIOUS.
INTUITIVE INSIGHT
• THE ACT OR RESULT OF APPREHENDING THE
INNER NATURE OF THINGS OR OF SEEING
INTUITIVELY.
TYPES OF INTUITION
1. PROBLEM SOLVING INTUITION
2. MORAL INTUITION
3. AESTHETIC INTUITION
 TYPES OF INTUITION
PROBLEM-SOLVING
INTUITION
THIS FORCES YOU TO LOOK HARD AND LONG
AT THE PUZZLE AND SEE IT FROM DIFFERENT
ANGLES. IT MEANS MAYBE YOU’LL REACH OUT
TO OTHERS FOR THEIR INPUT AND FEEDBACK.
MORAL INTUITION AESTHETIC INTUITION
A MORAL INTUITION CAN BE DEFINED AS THE OUR FACULTY OF JUDGMENT THAT ENABLES US
SUDDEN APPEARANCE IN CONSCIOUSNESS OF TO HAVE EXPERIENCE OF BEAUTY AND GRASP
A MORAL JUDGMENT, INCLUDING AN THOSE EXPERIENCES AS PART OF AN ORDERED,
AFFECTIVE. VALENCE (GOOD-BAD, LIKE- NATURAL WORLD WITH PURPOSE.
DISLIKE), WITHOUT ANY CONSCIOUS
AWARENESS OF HAVING GONE THROUGH
STEPS OF SEARCH, WEIGHING EVIDENCE, OR
INFERRING A CONCLUSION. ( HAIDT 2001)
MATHEMATICAL INTUITION

MATHEMATICAL INTUITION US COMING ACROSS A PROBLEM,

GLANCING AT IT, AND USING YOUR LOGICAL INSTINCT TO PULL OUT
AN ANSWER WITHOUT ASKING FURTHER QUESTIONS
(QUORA.COM)
EXAMPLE
WHAT WOULD BE THE PRODUCT OF 378+ 113 / 2?
THE ANSWER WOULD BE 200+. THAT WOULD NOT BE THE
EXACT NUMBER BUT IT IS SOMEHOW ACCURATE AND
MOSTLY RIGHT, HAVING IT SOLVED WITHIN SECONDS.
 ANOTHER EXAMPLE:
UNDERSTANDING CIRCLES
REFER FROM THE PICTURE PRESENTED, YOU CAN SEE THE DIFFERENT
IDEAS CONCERNING CORCLES.
PROOF
IT IS AN EVIDENCE OR ARGUMENT ESTABLISHING OR HELPING TO ESTABLISH A FACT OR THE TRUTH OF A
STATEMENT.
PROOF IN MATHEMATICAL SENTENCE

IT DEFINES A STATEMENT TO BE TRUE IN QUANTITATIVE

MEASURE USING LOGICAL REASONING. MOREOVER IT
SHOWS A STATEMENT TO BE TRUE USING DEFINITIONS,
THEOREMS AND POSTULATES.
TYPES OF PROOF
1. DIRECT PROOF
2. PROOF BY CONTRADICTION
3. PROOF BY INDUCTION
DIRECT PROOF

• IT IS WAY OF SHOWING THE TRUTH OR FALSEHOOD OF A GIVEN STATEMENT

BY A STRAIGHTFORWARD COMBINATION OF ESTABLISHED FACTS, USUALLY
AXIOMS, EXISTING LEMMAS AND THEOREMS, WITHOUT MAKING ANY
FURTHER ASSUMPTIONS.
DIRECT PROOF MEANS
PROVING SOMETHING HOW
IT CAME TO BE.
EXAMPLE USING CONSECUTIVE INTEGERS WORD
PROBLEM

2 CONSECUTIVE INTEGERS ADD UP TO 37 . FIND THE

INTEGERS IN X +X + 1 = 37
THE ANSWER WOULD BE 18 AND 19
THEOREM: “ THE SUM OF TWO ODD INTEGERS IS EVEN”

REFERRING FROM THE THEOREM PRESENTED ABOVE,

• LET X AND Y BE ODD NUMBERS, HENCE, X = 2A + 1 AND Y = 2B + 1

• SUBSTITUTE THE VALUES
X+Y = (2A+1) + (2B+1)

• CONSIDER THE ASSOCIATIVE AND COMMUTATIVE PROPERTY OF ADDITION

X+Y = 2A + 2B +1 +1
X+Y = 2 (A+B+1)
THEREFORE, X PLUS Y IS EVEN.
THEOREM: “ IF 'N’ IS AN ODD NUMBER, THEN N² IS ALSO
ODD”
N= 2A+1
N² = (2A+1)²
N² = (2A+1) (2A+1)
N² = 4A² + 4A +1
N² = 2 (2A² +2A) +1
THEREFORE, N² IS AN ODD NUMBER
PROOF BY CONTRADICTION
BEGINS BY ASSUMING THE
OPPOSITE OF THE
STATEMENT THAT IS TO BE
PROVEN.
THEOREM EQUATION:

1 + 1 WOUKD ALWAYS BE EQUAL TO 2 BUT WOULD

NEVER BE 3. IT CAN ONLY BE VALID IF THE EQUATION
1+1 WILL BE ADDED BY ANOTHER VALUE (1+1+N=3,
N=1) TO SUFFICE THE VALUE OF 3
EXAMPLE: TRIANGLE ABC HAS NO MORE THAN ONE RIGHT ANGLE. CAN YOU
MAKE A PROOF BY CONTRADICTION FOR THIS STATEMENT?
 TRIANGLE ABC
THEOREM: ANGLE A + ANGLE B + ANGLE C = 180°
ANGLE A = 90° , ANGLE B = 90 °
(SUBSTITUTION)
180° = 90° + 90° + ANGLE C
180° = 180° + ANGLE C
ANGLE C = 180° -180°
ANGLE C= 0°
 THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN ANGLE THAT MEASURES 0°.
THEREFORE, A TRIANGLE CAN ONLY CONSIST OF ONE RIGHT ANGLE.
PROOF BY INDUCTION
• PROOF BY INDUCTION IS A METHOD OF MATHEMATICAL PROOF TYPICALLY USED TO
ESTABLISH A GIVEN STATEMENT FOR ALL NATURAL NUMBERS.
• PROOF BY INDUCTION IS A SPECIAL WAY OF PROVING THINGS. IT HAS ONLY 2 STEPS:
• STEP 1. SHOW IT IS TRUE FOR THE FIRST ONE
• STEP 2. SHOW THAT IF ANY ONE IS TRUE THEN THE NEXT ONE IS TRUE
THEN ALL ARE TRUE
IN THE WORLD OF NUMBERS WE SAY:

STEP 1. SHOW IT IS TRUE FOR FIRST CASE, USUALLY N=1

STEP 2. SHOW THAT IF N=K IS TRUE THEN N=K+1 IS ALSO TRUE

EXAMPLE: IS 3^N−1 A MULTIPLE OF 2?
1.SHOW IT IS TRUE FOR N=1
2.3¹−1 = 3−1 = 2
2=2
3¹ - 1 = 2 IS TRUE
3.ASSUME IT IS TRUE FOR N=K
3^K−1 IS ALSO A MULTIPLE OF 2
USING ANOTHER EXAMPLE (N = K+1)

3N-1 IS A MULTIPLE OF 2
3^(K+1) – 1
(3^K)(3¹) -1 = (3)(3^K)-1
CERTAINTY
•THE STATE OF BEING DEFINITE OR OF HAVING NO DOUBTS
AT ALL ABOUT SOMETHING.
•IT IS THE QUALITY OF BEING RELIABLY TRUE.
•IN ITS BROADER SENSE, IT HAS 3 TYPES; OPINION, BELIEF
AND CONVICTION.
MATHEMATICAL CERTAINTY CONSISTS THOSE MATHEMATICAL PROPOSITIONS THAT
ARE OBJECTIVELY WARRANTED AS TRUE OR LOGICALLY VALID, HENCE, CAN BE
CLAIMED TO BE KNOWN.
EXAMPLE: THE PROBABILITY OF TOSSING A FAIR OR
UNBIASED COIN