Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

30%
+1 −5
Q&A In "if and only if" proofs, why's 1 direction easier to prove than the other?

2 answers  ·  posted 4y ago by Chgg Clou‭  ·  last activity 2y ago by Prime Mover‭

Question logic
#4: Post edited by user avatar Chgg Clou‭ · 2022-05-29T03:12:05Z (over 2 years ago)
  • In "if and only if" proofs (biconditional logical equivalences), why's 1 direction easier to prove?
  • In "if and only if" proofs, why's 1 direction easier to prove than the other?
  • [This list](https://math.stackexchange.com/q/3069488) on Math StackExchange instantiates equivalences where one direction can be proved effortlessly, but the other direction is racking to prove. If two propositions are equivalent, why can't they be proved with the same level of difficulty?
  • Please don't troll with frivolous "proofs" like
  • - [0 = 0 $\iff$ the riemann hypothesis is true](https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3nrwbc/what_iff_statements_are_easy_to_prove_one_way_but/cvqvbzg/),
  • - [a^n + b^n = c^n has integer solutions $\iff$ $n=2, \pm 1$](https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3nrwbc/what_iff_statements_are_easy_to_prove_one_way_but/cvqr92l/), or
  • - ['Fermat's last theorem' $\iff$ 0+0=0](https://redd.it/e2wtf7).
  • [This Reddit thread](https://redd.it/e2wtf7) instances two common cases like [Hall's Theorem](https://old.reddit.com/r/math/comments/e2wtf7/are_you_aware_of_any_biconditional_statements/f8ysvyc/), and [a sequence of real numbers converges $\iff$ it is Cauchy](https://math.stackexchange.com/a/2170819) ($\Leftarrow$ is effortless, but $\Rightarrow$ is grueling).
  • [This list](https://math.stackexchange.com/q/3069488) on Math StackExchange instantiates (biconditional) logical equivalences where one direction can be proved swimmingly, but the other direction is racking to prove. **If two propositions are equivalent, why can't they be proved with the same level of difficulty?**
  • Please don't troll with frivolous "proofs" like
  • - [0 = 0 $\iff$ The Riemann Hypothesis is true.](https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3nrwbc/what_iff_statements_are_easy_to_prove_one_way_but/cvqvbzg/)
  • - [$a^n + b^n = c^n$ has integer solutions $\iff$ $n=2, \pm 1$](https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3nrwbc/what_iff_statements_are_easy_to_prove_one_way_but/cvqr92l/).
  • - ['Fermat's last theorem' $\iff 0+0=0$](https://redd.it/e2wtf7).
  • [This Reddit thread](https://redd.it/e2wtf7) instances two common cases like [Hall's Theorem](https://old.reddit.com/r/math/comments/e2wtf7/are_you_aware_of_any_biconditional_statements/f8ysvyc/), and [a sequence of complex numbers converges $\iff$ it is Cauchy](https://proofwiki.org/wiki/Cauchy%27s_Convergence_Criterion/Complex_Numbers) ($\Leftarrow$ is effortless, but $\Rightarrow$ is grueling).
#3: Post edited by user avatar Chgg Clou‭ · 2022-05-29T03:04:44Z (over 2 years ago)
  • In If and Only If Proofs, why's the proof for one direction easier than the other?
  • In "if and only if" proofs (biconditional logical equivalences), why's 1 direction easier to prove?
  • [This list](https://math.stackexchange.com/q/3069488) on Math StackExchange instantiates equivalences where one direction can be proved effortlessly, but the other direction is racking to prove. If two propositions are equivalent, why can't they be proved with the same level of difficulty?
  • Please don't troll with frivolous "proofs" like [0 = 0 iff the riemann hypothesis is true](https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3nrwbc/what_iff_statements_are_easy_to_prove_one_way_but/cvqvbzg/), [a^n + b^n = c^n has integer solutions iff $n=2, \pm 1$](https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3nrwbc/what_iff_statements_are_easy_to_prove_one_way_but/cvqr92l/), or ['Fermat's last theorem' iff 0+0=0](https://redd.it/e2wtf7). [This Reddit thread](https://redd.it/e2wtf7) instances two common cases like [Hall's Theorem](https://old.reddit.com/r/math/comments/e2wtf7/are_you_aware_of_any_biconditional_statements/f8ysvyc/), and [a sequence of real numbers converges iff it is Cauchy](https://math.stackexchange.com/a/2170819) ($\Leftarrow$ is effortless, but $\Rightarrow$ is grueling).
  • [This list](https://math.stackexchange.com/q/3069488) on Math StackExchange instantiates equivalences where one direction can be proved effortlessly, but the other direction is racking to prove. If two propositions are equivalent, why can't they be proved with the same level of difficulty?
  • Please don't troll with frivolous "proofs" like
  • - [0 = 0 $\iff$ the riemann hypothesis is true](https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3nrwbc/what_iff_statements_are_easy_to_prove_one_way_but/cvqvbzg/),
  • - [a^n + b^n = c^n has integer solutions $\iff$ $n=2, \pm 1$](https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3nrwbc/what_iff_statements_are_easy_to_prove_one_way_but/cvqr92l/), or
  • - ['Fermat's last theorem' $\iff$ 0+0=0](https://redd.it/e2wtf7).
  • [This Reddit thread](https://redd.it/e2wtf7) instances two common cases like [Hall's Theorem](https://old.reddit.com/r/math/comments/e2wtf7/are_you_aware_of_any_biconditional_statements/f8ysvyc/), and [a sequence of real numbers converges $\iff$ it is Cauchy](https://math.stackexchange.com/a/2170819) ($\Leftarrow$ is effortless, but $\Rightarrow$ is grueling).
#2: Post edited by user avatar Chgg Clou‭ · 2022-05-29T03:00:08Z (over 2 years ago)
  • [This list](https://math.stackexchange.com/q/3069488). [this question](https://math.stackexchange.com/q/3069488) substantiates proofs where one direction can be proved effortlessly, but the other direction is grueling to prove. Why? If two propositions are equivalent, wouldn't their proofs have the same level of difficulty?
  • Please don't troll with frivolous "proofs" like ['Fermat's last theorem' iff 0+0=0](https://redd.it/e2wtf7), but that Reddit thread instances two common cases like [Hall's Theorem](https://old.reddit.com/r/math/comments/e2wtf7/are_you_aware_of_any_biconditional_statements/f8ysvyc/) and [a sequence of real numbers converges iff it is Cauchy](https://math.stackexchange.com/a/2170819). In latter, $\Leftarrow$ is effortless but $\Rightarrow$ is grueling.
  • [This list](https://math.stackexchange.com/q/3069488) on Math StackExchange instantiates equivalences where one direction can be proved effortlessly, but the other direction is racking to prove. If two propositions are equivalent, why can't they be proved with the same level of difficulty?
  • Please don't troll with frivolous "proofs" like [0 = 0 iff the riemann hypothesis is true](https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3nrwbc/what_iff_statements_are_easy_to_prove_one_way_but/cvqvbzg/), [a^n + b^n = c^n has integer solutions iff $n=2, \pm 1$](https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/3nrwbc/what_iff_statements_are_easy_to_prove_one_way_but/cvqr92l/), or ['Fermat's last theorem' iff 0+0=0](https://redd.it/e2wtf7). [This Reddit thread](https://redd.it/e2wtf7) instances two common cases like [Hall's Theorem](https://old.reddit.com/r/math/comments/e2wtf7/are_you_aware_of_any_biconditional_statements/f8ysvyc/), and [a sequence of real numbers converges iff it is Cauchy](https://math.stackexchange.com/a/2170819) ($\Leftarrow$ is effortless, but $\Rightarrow$ is grueling).
#1: Initial revision by user avatar Chgg Clou‭ · 2021-03-09T05:27:22Z (almost 4 years ago)
In If and Only If Proofs, why's the proof for one direction  easier than the other?
[This list](https://math.stackexchange.com/q/3069488). [this question](https://math.stackexchange.com/q/3069488) substantiates proofs where one direction can be proved effortlessly, but the other direction is grueling to prove. Why? If two propositions are equivalent, wouldn't their proofs have the same level of difficulty? 

Please don't troll with frivolous "proofs" like ['Fermat's last theorem' iff 0+0=0](https://redd.it/e2wtf7), but that Reddit thread instances two common cases like [Hall's Theorem](https://old.reddit.com/r/math/comments/e2wtf7/are_you_aware_of_any_biconditional_statements/f8ysvyc/) and [a sequence of real numbers converges iff it is Cauchy](https://math.stackexchange.com/a/2170819). In latter, $\Leftarrow$ is effortless but $\Rightarrow$ is grueling.