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Re:What does 0^0 equal? Why do mathematicians and high schoo... by xyzzyz on Wednesday August 24, 2011 @06:25PM (#2922720)
There are cases when both a claim and its negation do not lead to contradiction, but them both being true obviously does.
Re:What does 0^0 equal? Why do mathematicians and high schoo... by qntm on Wednesday August 24, 2011 @07:27PM (#2923068)
Thus, mathematics unexpectedly turns into a Choose Your Own Adventure novel!
Re:What does 0^0 equal? Why do mathematicians and high schoo... by xyzzyz on Wednesday August 24, 2011 @07:40PM (#2923114)
It's an amusing way to put this, but yes, it's true. An example of such situation is the case of continuum hypothesis. Both it and its negation has been proven not to lead to contradiction, so while most mathematicians ignore it, effectively treating it as being true, many set and model theorists play with things like Martin's axiom, which makes sense only if continuum hypothesis is false.