Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: Notesfiles $Revision: 1.6.2.17 $; site uiucdcs.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!uiucdcs!holland From: holland@uiucdcs.UUCP Newsgroups: net.math Subject: Re: Induction help, please? Message-ID: <28200044@uiucdcs.UUCP> Date: Sun, 7-Oct-84 13:15:00 EDT Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.28200044 Posted: Sun Oct 7 13:15:00 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 9-Oct-84 03:37:10 EDT References: <5264@yale.UUCP> Lines: 13 Nf-ID: #R:yale:-526400:uiucdcs:28200044:000:473 Nf-From: uiucdcs!holland Oct 7 12:15:00 1984 Induction is perhaps one of the hardest "tricks" to conceptualize. It is probably THE hardest trick to get down on paper. Try lots of simple inductive proofs. Most books on abstract algebra will have at least a couple. I think that McLaine/Birkhoff has several. You can always do induction mechanically, in two steps: 1. is the hypothesis true when the index variable is 1 (or another starting value)? 2. is the hypothesis true when adding 1 to the index variable?