Definition:Halmos Symbol/Also known as
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Halmos Symbol: Also known as
The Halmos symbol is apparently, according to Halmos himself, also known as the tombstone symbol.
Some sources report it as the Halmos tombstone.
According to an apocryphal story, this is because he apparently claimed to consider proofs to be "alive" until they "killed" by being proven, thus marking their end with a tombstone.
Sources
- 1985: Paul R. Halmos: I Want To Be a Mathematician: An Automathography
- 2021: Jay Cummings: Proofs ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $1$: $1.1$ Chessboard Problems