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April 9[edit]

Most important mathematical theorem?[edit]

Is there any theorem, which is as important as Bayes' theorem?
Or could we say that Bayes proofes the most important theorem? 2A02:908:424:9D60:79A1:686E:9237:6F1A (talk) 15:07, 9 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The answer to your question depends on what you mean by"important". So, yes, and no. —Kusma (talk) 18:10, 9 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Among the theorems that have been called "the most important" are Noether's theorem,^[1] Gödel's incompleteness theorem^[2][3][4] and Pythagoras' theorem,^[5][6] although others think the Pythagorean school proved a more important theorem.^[7] --Lambiam 21:41, 9 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

If your candidate is Bayes' theorem then I guess you have applied mathematics in mind. In that case (maybe in any case), consider the fundamental theorem of calculus. For many basic things it depends what you call a theorem. The normal way to add multidigit numbers with carries is pretty important and could be formulated as a theorem ("this procedure gives the sum") but it usually isn't. PrimeHunter (talk) 21:50, 9 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Is there an objective measure of importance in this case? Otherwise it's a matter of opinion. --RDBury (talk) 00:26, 10 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]