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Teaching Innovations in Real Analysis:: David Bressoud Macalester College, St. Paul, MN New Orleans, January 7, 2007

This document summarizes key developments in real analysis between 1800-1910, including work by Cauchy, Abel, and Lebesgue. It discusses Cauchy's 1821 work on series, continuity, and differentiation, in which he argued algebraic techniques were insufficient and accuracy was important. It also notes Abel's criticism of Cauchy in 1826 as "crazy" but the only one doing mathematics correctly, and his belief that one of Cauchy's theorems suffered exceptions. Finally, it mentions Cauchy's work on continuous functions and the dependence of x and n, as well as Abel's comment that if Cauchy could make mistakes, it was difficult to know what was correct.

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Fabio Arevalo
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154 views15 pages

Teaching Innovations in Real Analysis:: David Bressoud Macalester College, St. Paul, MN New Orleans, January 7, 2007

This document summarizes key developments in real analysis between 1800-1910, including work by Cauchy, Abel, and Lebesgue. It discusses Cauchy's 1821 work on series, continuity, and differentiation, in which he argued algebraic techniques were insufficient and accuracy was important. It also notes Abel's criticism of Cauchy in 1826 as "crazy" but the only one doing mathematics correctly, and his belief that one of Cauchy's theorems suffered exceptions. Finally, it mentions Cauchy's work on continuous functions and the dependence of x and n, as well as Abel's comment that if Cauchy could make mistakes, it was difficult to know what was correct.

Uploaded by

Fabio Arevalo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Teaching Innovations in Real Analysis:

David Bressoud
Macalester College, St. Paul, MN
New Orleans, January 7, 2007
A Radical Approach to
Lebesgues Theory of
Integration
To appear
December, 2007
Series, continuity,
differentiation
18001850
Integration, structure
of the real numbers
18501910
Cauchy, Cours danalyse, 1821
explanations drawn from algebraic
technique cannot be considered, in my
opinion, except as heuristics that will
sometimes suggest the truth, but which
accord little with the accuracy that is so
praised in the mathematical sciences.
1 = 1 x + x x
2
+ x
2
x
3
+
= 1 x ( )+ x x
2
( )
+ x
2
x
3
( )
+
= 1 x ( )+ x 1 x ( )+ x
2
1 x ( )+
= 1 x ( ) 1+ x + x
2
+
( )
1
1 x
= 1+ x + x
2
+
1 = 1 x + x x
2
+ x
2
x
3
+
= 1 x ( )+ x x
2
( )
+ x
2
x
3
( )
+
= 1 x ( )+ x 1 x ( )+ x
2
1 x ( )+
= 1 x ( ) 1+ x + x
2
+
( )
1
1 x
= 1+ x + x
2
+
1 =
1
1 2
=1+ 2 + 2
2
+
1 = 1 x + x x
2
+ x
2
x
3
+ x
N
+ x
N
= 1 x ( )+ x x
2
( )
+ x
2
x
3
( )
+ + x
N1
x
N
( )
+ x
N
= 1 x ( )+ x 1 x ( )+ x
2
1 x ( )+ + x
N1
1 x ( )+ x
N
= 1 x ( ) 1+ x + x
2
+ + x
N1
( )
+ x
N
1
1 x
= 1+ x + x
2
+ + x
N1
+
x
N
1 x
Niels Henrik Abel (1826):
Cauchy is crazy, and there is no way of
getting along with him, even though right
now he is the only one who knows how
mathematics should be done. What he is
doing is excellent, but very confusing.
Cauchy, Cours danalyse, 1821, p. 120
Theorem 1. When the terms of a series are functions of
a single variable x and are continuous with respect to
this variable in the neighborhood of a particular value
where the series converges, the sum S(x) of the series is
also, in the neighborhood of this particular value, a
continuous function of x.
S x ( )= f
k
x ( )
k =1

, f
k
continuous S continuous
S
n
x ( )= f
k
x ( )
k =1
n

, R
n
x ( )= S x ( ) S
n
x ( )
Convergence can make R
n
x ( ) as small as we wish
by taking n sufficiently large. S
n
is continuous for n < .
S
n
x ( )= f
k
x ( )
k =1
n

, R
n
x ( )= S x ( ) S
n
x ( )
Convergence can make R
n
x ( ) as small as we wish
by taking n sufficiently large. S
n
is continuous for n < .
S continuous at a if can force S(x) - S(a)
as small as we wish by restricting x a .
S
n
x ( )= f
k
x ( )
k =1
n

, R
n
x ( )= S x ( ) S
n
x ( )
Convergence can make R
n
x ( ) as small as we wish
by taking n sufficiently large. S
n
is continuous for n < .
S continuous at a if can force S(x) - S(a)
as small as we wish by restricting x a .
S x ( ) S a ( ) = S
n
x ( )+ R
n
x ( ) S
n
a ( ) R
n
a ( )
s S
n
x ( ) S
n
a ( ) + R
n
x ( ) + R
n
a ( )
Abel, 1826:
It appears to me that this
theorem suffers exceptions.
sin x
1
2
sin2x +
1
3
sin3x
1
4
sin4x +L
S
n
x ( )= f
k
x ( )
k =1
n

, R
n
x ( )= S x ( ) S
n
x ( )
Convergence can make R
n
x ( ) as small as we wish
by taking n sufficiently large. S
n
is continuous for n < .
S continuous at a if can force S(x) - S(a)
as small as we wish by restricting x a .
S x ( ) S a ( ) = S
n
x ( )+ R
n
x ( ) S
n
a ( ) R
n
a ( )
s S
n
x ( ) S
n
a ( ) + R
n
x ( ) + R
n
a ( )
x depends on n
n depends on x
If even Cauchy can
make a mistake like this,
how am I supposed to
know what is correct?
This PowerPoint presentation is available at
www.macalester.edu/~bressoud/talks
A draft of A Radical Approach to Lebesgues
Theory of Integration is available at
www.macalester.edu/~bressoud/books

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