Fundamentals of mathematics

Bernd S. W. Schröder

"The foundation of mathematics is not found in a single discipline since it is a general way of thinking in a very rigorous logical fashion. This book was written especially for readers who are about to make their first contact with this very way of thinking. Chapters 1-5 provide a rigorous, self contained construction of the familiar number systems (natural numbers, integers, real, and complex numbers) from the axioms of set theory. This construction trains readers in many of the proof techniques that are ultimately used almost subconsciously. In addition to important applications, the author discusses the scientific method in general (which is the reason why civilization has advanced to today's highly technological state), the fundamental building blocks of digital processors (which make computers work), and public key encryption (which makes internet commerce secure). The book...