Proving that a subset of a countable set is countable

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SUMMARY

This discussion focuses on proving that any subset of a countable set is either finite or countable. A set \( S \) is defined as countable if there exists a bijection from \( S \) to \( \mathbb{N} \). The key argument presented is that for an infinite subset \( V \) of \( S \), one can establish a bijection \( \beta: V \to \mathbb{N} \) by defining a mapping \( f: \mathbb{N} \to A \), where \( A \) is an infinite subset of \( \mathbb{N} \) and \( f(i) \) is the \( i \)-th smallest element of \( A \). This method confirms that any infinite subset of \( \mathbb{N} \) is indeed countable.

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Mathmellow
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I am trying to prove that any subset of a countable set is either finite or countable.

I know that a set $$S$$ is countable if there exists a bijection that takes S to $$\Bbb{N}$$. My first thought was to consider the subset $$V$$ of $$S$$. If $$V$$ is finite we are done, since we can always construct a finite subset of a countably infinite set.
So I guess in the case where $$V$$ is infinite we want to prove that there is a bijection $$\beta: V\to\Bbb{N}$$. However, I am not sure how to do this.

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me with this, so I can feel more comfortable with these types of problems in the future!
 
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Mathmellow said:
I am trying to prove that any subset of a countable set is either finite or countable.

I know that a set $$S$$ is countable if there exists a bijection that takes S to $$\Bbb{N}$$. My first thought was to consider the subset $$V$$ of $$S$$. If $$V$$ is finite we are done, since we can always construct a finite subset of a countably infinite set.
So I guess in the case where $$V$$ is infinite we want to prove that there is a bijection $$\beta: V\to\Bbb{N}$$. However, I am not sure how to do this.

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me with this, so I can feel more comfortable with these types of problems in the future!

One just has to show that any infinite subset of $\mathbb N$ is in bijection with $\mathbb N$.

Let $A\subseteq \mathbb N$ be infinite. Define a map $f:\mathbb N\to A$ by declaring $f(i)$ to be the $i$-th smallest element of $A$. Then $f$ is a bijection.
 

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