Euclid's theorem

nebbione

Hi everyone! In this period i'm trying to understand how proofs work.
And i don't understand why the induction process is only used sometimes. When can i use it ?

For example in the euclid's theorem http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclid%27s_theorem
why this could not be proven with the induction ?

Diffy

Hi. There is no general formula or template for proving something. You can't just take the "induction template" and use that to prove any old theorem.

I am curious how much math you actually know. Because frankly, I think you should focus on learning more math, because with that education, proofs will become clearer.


Edit:
Maybe start by reading this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_proof

nebbione

Can you explain me why i can't use induction always when talking for examples of euclid's theorem ? we only have natural numbers in this context

Diffy

Go ahead. Try to use induction and post your proof here.

Do you know what induction is? Can you tell me in your own words?

Do you know what Euclids Theorem is? Can you tell me in your own words?

nebbione

sorry i re read the induction and the euclid's theorem and now i understand.
You are right.
I cannot use induction since i'm not considering contigous numbers, but thre prime numbers distributed randomly in N.