RUME 27
2025
Alexandria, Virginia
Mathematical Induction: Which Written Proofs or Visual Proofs are More Convincing?
Page: 1014
This study uses a survey to investigate mathematical convictions in tournament-style comparative judgements for written and visual proofs. The survey uses four theorems that can be proven using mathematical induction with each having four proofs: two written and visual. The visual proofs were equally convincing, and the respondents indicated that they believed these visual proofs to be mathematical proofs but not prove their theorems for all values n. The written proofs by mathematical induction were often the most convincing proofs—winning the overall tournament. Familiarity and content seemed to be prevailing factors for judging whether one proof was more convincing than another.