Mathematical Proof

Roles: axiom, theorem, lemma, conjecture, proof, counterexample, construction, contradiction, witness, assumption

The formal apparatus for establishing mathematical truth beyond doubt. As a source domain, proof provides a vocabulary of certainty, rigor, and logical compulsion that transfers powerfully into domains seeking unassailable justification. Its key structural contributions include the distinction between existence and construction (knowing something exists versus building it), the asymmetry between proof and disproof (one counterexample suffices), and the idea that assumptions must be made explicit before reasoning can proceed.

As Source Frame (4)