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Questions designed to generate a "big list" of certain results, examples, conjectures, etc. via many individual answers, each contributing one or a few instances. Such a question should typically be in Community Wiki mode (CW); after asking, please, flag for moderators attention requesting the question to be made CW.

7 votes

Interesting applications of the pigeonhole principle

For most cardinals $\kappa \leq \lambda$, it must happen that the infinite symmetric group $S_\kappa$ satisfies exactly the same first order theory as $S_\lambda$. That is, the groups are elementarily …
9 votes

Interesting examples of generic behavior of mathematical objects being either unreasonably s...

Generic Turing machine programs are unreasonable: the computation head will fall off the beginning of the tape. Basically, the situation is that on the usual one-way infinite tape model, a random pr …
4 votes

Properties of natural numbers such that there is a "very large largest" number with that pro...

The other examples are great! Meanwhile, there is a translation between this question and the eventual counterexamples question. Namely, For any property $Q(m)$ with eventual counterexamples, the p …
8 votes

Examples of statements that provably can't be proved using a promising looking method

Gödel had conjectured that large cardinals might settle the continuum problem. He thought, for example, that perhaps the existence of a measurable cardinal would imply $\neg\text{CH}$. Such a perspect …
12 votes

Statements reliant on conjectures

Set theory is of course completely saturated with this feature, since the independence phenomenon means that a huge proportion of the most interesting natural set-theoretic questions turn out to be in …
13 votes

Arriving at the same result with the opposite hypotheses

Every proof by contradiction can be seen as following the template identified in the theorem. Namely, when we've proved a statement $S$ by contradiction, then $S$ follows from $S$ and also from $\ne …
17 votes

Particular problem solved by solving a more general problem.

Cantor proved the existence of transcendental real numbers by proving that most numbers are transcendental. The set of algebraic real numbers is countable.
34 votes

A search for theorems which appear to have very few, if any hypotheses

Theorem. Every group has a terminating transfinite automorphism tower. Start with any group $G$, compute $\text{Aut}(G)$ and $\text{Aut}(\text{Aut}(G))$ and so on, iterating transfinitely, mapping e …
30 votes

What is your favorite "strange" function?

The Ackermann function $A(n,m)$ is defined on the natural numbers by a very simple recursion, but the values grow enormously, almost beyond conception. This function completely transcends any simple-m …
32 votes

What are some examples of colorful language in serious mathematics papers?

In this MO answer, I mentioned Arnold Miller's lecture notes, where he gives an entertaining account of the MM proof system (for Micky Mouse), having as axioms all validities and modus ponens as the o …
31 votes

Interesting examples of vacuous / void entities

The usual axiomatizations of set theory (without urelements) mean that every set in the entire set-theoretic universe is ultimately built from copies of the emptyset, in complex empty-box-in-a-box-in- …
19 votes

Interesting examples of vacuous / void entities

The Generalized Continuum Hypothesis is the assertion that $2^\kappa=\kappa^+$ for all infinite cardinals $\kappa$, or in other words that the power set of a set of size $\kappa$ has the next larger c …
104 votes

Theorems with unexpected conclusions

My favorite example of this phenomenon is Goodstein's Theorem. Take any positive number $a_2$, such as the number $73$, and write it in complete base $2$, which means write it as a sum of powers of $2 …
30 votes

Nonequivalent definitions in Mathematics

A tree can be a very different thing in different parts of mathematics. It might be a certain kind of acyclic graph; or a partial order such that the predecessors of every node are linearly ordered; o …
6 votes

Suggestions for good notation

The three-dot notation $f\mathrel{\scriptsize\vdots}A\to B$ to indicate that $f$ is a partial function from $A$ to $B$, meaning that $\text{dom}(f)\subseteq A$ rather than $\text{dom}(f)=A$. Partial f …

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