Lecturer: Dr. Johannes Schmitt
Time and Place: Monday, 8:00-9:45, Room Y27H25
Further information can be found in the UZH Course Catalogue.
"Proofs from THE BOOK" is a book written by Aigner and Ziegler that presents a collection of mathematical proofs, with a focus on trying to find the most instructive and elegant ways to derive various theorems.
The book is known for its clear proof presentations, which are often cited as models of good proof-writing. The book covers a wide range of mathematical topics, including geometry, number theory, and combinatorics. In addition to presenting the proofs themselves, the book also includes discussions of the background and motivation behind each proof, as well as tips on how to approach and understand the material.
In the seminar, each student will present content from one of the chapters of the book. Instead of building up one big theory, the chapters are independent, and the focus of the seminar is to aim at fully understanding the material and presenting it as clearly as possible.
Here is the preliminary assignment of topics and dates:
| Topic | Date | Student |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 3: Binomial coefficients are (almost) never powers Chapter 9: Four times \(\pi^2/6\) |
06.03 | Sibylle Schalbetter Laura Depedrini |
| Chapter 36: Completing Latin squares Chapter 2: Bertrand’s postulate |
13.03 | Annina Eggenschwiler Keerthiga Rajakumar |
| Chapter 20: In praise of inequalities Chapter 31: Shuffling cards |
20.03 | Andrin Schneeberger Christian Farkas |
| Chapter 40: How to guard a museum Chapter 21: The fundamental theorem of algebra |
27.03 | Jeremy Suter Teodora Krstic |
| Chapter 15: The Borromean rings don’t exist | 03.04 | Irena Syla Joel Zülle |
| Chapter 41: Turán’s graph theorem Chapter 44: Of friends and politicians |
17.04 | Ira Griesshammer Alicia Brockmöller |
| Chapter 19: Sets, functions, and the continuum hypothesis Chapter 6: Every finite division ring is a field |
24.04 | Philine Schönenberger Ida Krinn |
In order to pass the seminar and get credit points, you have to: