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Originally Posted by asaris
You realize, don't you, that that doesn't prove that 2+2=4, since a proof must be universally valid... (And yes, I know I'm being a little silly with this.)
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Disclaimer: I did not read the rest of this thread, I was just interested in the 2+2=4
I am also not sure this is correct, please point out any errors that you see.
To prove that 2+2=4 you first need integers, enter set theory.
Lets start with nothing, the empty set { e }.
Now we have something, the empty set {e}
Now we have two things, the empty set and nothing { e , { e } }
This goes on and on forever, giving us all of the positive integers.
From this we can conclude that {e,{e}} + {e,{e}} = {e, {e} , {e,{e}}, {e,{e},{e,{e}}} }
If you count the empty sets you get two empty sets + two empty sets = four empty sets.
That is how my Theory of Computation teacher explained it. I assume that M&Ms are a easier to grasp than empty sets are, but you get the picture.
I don't know which side this helps, but the point is that 2+2=4 can be proved.