Logic
Logic is the systematic use of symbolic and mathematical techniques to determine the forms of valid deductive or inductive argument.
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[hide]Statements
A statement is either true or false, but it will never be both or neither. An example of a statement is "A duck is a bird" which is true. Another example is "A pencil does not exist" which is false.
Conditional
If then . For example, "If it is a duck then it is a bird."
Inverse
The inverse of the conditional statement is: If not then not .
Converse
The converse of the conditional statement is: If then .
Contrapositive
The contrapositive of the conditional statement is: If not then not .
The conditional is equivalent to the contrapositive. The inverse is equivalent to the converse. When both the conditional and the converse are true at the same time, this is equivalent to an Iff statement.
Logical Notations
- Main article: Logical notation
A Logical notation is a special syntax that is shorthand for logical statements.
Negations
The negation of , denoted by , is the statement that is true when is false and is false when is true. This means simply "it is not the case that ."
Conjunction
The conjunction of two statements basically means " and " and is denoted by .
Disjunction
The disjunction of two statements basically means " or " and is denoted by .
Implication, Conditional
The statement "If then " is denoted by . For example, means "If then ."
Converse
The converse of the statement is .
Inverse
The inverse of the statement is .
Contrapositive
The contrapositive of the statement is . These statements are logically equivalent.
Truth Tables
A truth table is the list of all possible values of a compound statement.
Quantifiers
There are two types of quantifiers: A universal Quantifier: "for all" and an existential Quantifier: "there exists". A universal quantifier is denoted by and an existential quantifier is denoted by .