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Axioms can just be thought of as baseline assumptions that are included by the terms in your hypothesis. If your theorem is about some vector space V, then you’
by chongli 3y ago
Axioms can just be thought of as baseline assumptions that are included by the terms in your hypothesis. If your theorem is about some vector space V, then you’re assuming that vector spaces exist, and also assuming all of the building blocks do as well (fields all the way down to natural numbers and set theory).
- dragonwriter 3y agoYou aren't assuming existence (math is abstract, none of it relies on things existing), you are assuming certain definitions of vector spaces, etc.
- chongli 3y agoExistence is a very common term in mathematics. It doesn't mean existence like a table or a piece of paper. It means that a mathematical object could (in principle) be constructed without leading to a contradiction.