- The Axiom of Choice (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
The principle of set theory known as the Axiom of Choice has been hailed as “probably the most interesting and, in spite of its late appearance, the most discussed axiom of mathematics, second only to Euclid’s axiom of parallels which was introduced more than two thousand years ago” (Fraenkel, Bar-Hillel & Levy 1973, §II.4). The fulsomeness of this description might lead those unfamiliar with the axiom to expect it to be as startling as, say, the Principle of the Constancy of the Velocity of Light or the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. But in fact the Axiom of Choice as it is usually stated appears humdrum, even self-evident. For it amounts to nothing more than the claim that, given any collection of mutually disjoint nonempty sets, it is possible to assemble a new set—a transversal or choice set—containing exactly one element from each member of the given collection. Nevertheless, this seemingly innocuous principle has far-reaching mathematical consequences—many indispensable, some startling—and has come to figure prominently in discussions on the foundations of mathematics. It (or its equivalents) have been employed in countless mathematical papers, and a number of monographs have been exclusively devoted to it.
- John M. Pinch, 83, of 2005 Barclay St., Maplewood, Minn., formerly of Dubuque and Epworth, Iowa, died Friday, Jan. 9, 2004, at Pillars Hospice Home, Maplewood.
- Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Reiff Funeral Home, Epworth, with the Rev. Terri Elder officiating. Burial will be in Highview Cemetery, Epworth, where military rites will be accorded by the Epworth American Legion John White Post 650 and the New Vienna (Iowa)Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7736. Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. today at the funeral home.
- He graduated from Epworth High School.
- FIRE DESTROYS FARM RESIDENCE
- Epworth, Iowa (Wikipedia)
Epworth is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States. It is part of the Dubuque, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,023 at the 2020 census, up from 1,428 in 2000.