Albion College Mathematics and Computer Science Colloquium



Title: You Want Proof? I'll Give You Proof! Mathematical Arguments from Euclid to Lean
Speaker:Jeremy Avigad
Professor
Department of Philosophy and the Department of Mathematical Sciences
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Abstract: Although proof has been central to mathematics from ancient times, our understanding of what a proof is has evolved through the years. In the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton proved things about infinitely small quantities; two hundred years later, Georg Cantor proved things about quantities that are infinitely large. Some proofs rely on calculations that are too long to carry out by hand; some collaborative proofs are too large to be understood by any one person; and now, we can even write proofs that a computer - or AI - can understand and evaluate. Join Jeremy Avigad, Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Mathematical Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, as you experiment with contemporary proof-checking technology and explore recent developments that challenge our understanding of mathematical proof.

A talk given at The National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) on 6 November 2024.

Video link
Location: Palenske 227
Date:10/23/2025
Time: 3:30 PM



@abstract{MCS:Colloquium:JeremyAvigad:2025:10:23,
author  = "{Jeremy Avigad}",
title   = "{You Want Proof?  I'll Give You Proof!  Mathematical Arguments from Euclid to Lean}",
address = "{Albion College Mathematics and Computer Science Colloquium}",
month   = "{23 October}",
year    = "{2025}"
}