Set theory (nonfiction)

The Venn diagrams is a well-known expression of set theory.

Set theory is the branch of mathematics that studies sets, which informally are collections of mathematical objects.

Although any type of object can be collected into a set, set theory is applied most often to objects that are relevant to mathematics.

The modern study of set theory was initiated by Georg Cantor and Richard Dedekind in the 1870s.

After the discovery of paradoxes in naive set theory, numerous axiom systems were proposed in the early twentieth century, of which the Zermelo–Fraenkel axioms, with the axiom of choice, are the best-known.

Contemporary research into set theory includes a diverse collection of topics, ranging from the structure of the real number line to the study of the consistency of large cardinals.

In the News

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  Cantor set fundamental to detecting and preventing crimes against mathematical constants, according to recent survey of mathematicians.

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  John Venn gathers his thoughts, groups them into logical categories.

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  Writer/sorceror Roger Zelazny (working with artist William Blake) conjures a Venn diagram against an unnamed Demon.

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  Georg Cantor suffers for his genius, deserves better, say Set theory.

Fiction cross-reference

• John Venn
• Mathematician
• Mathematics

Nonfiction cross-reference

• Axiom of choice (nonfiction)
• Georg Cantor (nonfiction)
• Mathematician (nonfiction)
• Mathematics (nonfiction)

External links:

• Set theory @ Wikipedia