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I want to say:

Consider a>b, if b>c, then a>c is necessarily satisfied.

Will it be better by using "must"

Consider a>b, if b>c, then a>c must be satisfied.

or with nothing

Consider a>b, if b>c, then a>c is satisfied.

Thank you very much!

More clearly, I want to use "satisfied" because a>c is a constraint where "a" is a variable while "b" and "c" are constants. I want to express that since "a>b", if "b>c", then constraint "a>c" should not be considered. So how should I express this? Thnaks for your suggestion.

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    It's not clear to me why you want a phrase such as "is ... satisfied" or "must be satisfied" at all. Your proof would read more smoothly like this: Suppose a>b. If b>c, then a>c. Or, if you want to use "must": Suppose a>b. If b>c, then a must be greater than c.
    – Rosie F
    Commented Jun 3, 2020 at 8:25
  • @Rosie F Sorry for the confusion. I want to use "satisfied" because a>c is a constraint where "a" is a variable while "b" and "c" are constants. I want to express that since "a>b", if "b>c", then constraint "a>c" should not be considered. So how should I express this? Thnaks for your suggestion. Commented Jun 3, 2020 at 10:21
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    What do you mean by "consider a>b"? That's the really confusing part of your sentences. Do you mean "assume a>b"? In math papers "consider" means something like "think about" or "let's look at". Commented Jun 3, 2020 at 10:58
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    I don't think consider works. You don't need a single-word verb there, and I can't think of any that are better. You could use Since we know a>b or Having established a>b, or The constraint a>b is satisfied, so if ..., or something like that. Commented Jun 3, 2020 at 13:10
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    If a > b and b > c then a > c.
    – Drew
    Commented Jan 30, 2021 at 0:36

2 Answers 2

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In a formal system of reasoning, such as mathematics, a statement is necessarily true if it is true for all the values that can be assigned to its variables. Generally speaking, this means that the truth of the statement can be determined by symbolic manipulation as opposed to the assigning values and testing the results.

A symbolic constant in such an expression may be thought of as a variable that we hold at a constant value while we allow other variables to change. In mathematics, for example, this simplifies certain operations, such as the differentiation of algebraic functions, but that’s not the key point here.

The expression, “Consider a>b, if b>c, then a>c is necessarily satisfied.” is simple, logical and correct. From it, the reader can infer that it is only necessary to compare a against the larger of the two constants b and c.

The expression is given in isolation, so we don’t know the form of the argument that follows. However, consider is typically used in this context to establish a point in the reader’s mind, so that it can be referred to further along.

Most of the suggestions advanced by the commenters are technically correct, but are needlessly heavy and burdensome to the text.

Style, of course, is a matter of opinion, and de gustibus non est disputandum, but in my opinion the original was fine.

The ever-useful Wikipedia has quite a lot to say about logic: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic

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The use of satisfied in this context is confusing.

The entire sequence being referenced is called a proof. The final statement in a proof is called a theorem:

[Merriam-Webster]
1 : a formula, proposition, or statement in mathematics or logic deduced or to be deduced from other formulas or propositions

From Wikipedia (additional emphasis mine):

In logic and mathematics, a formal proof or derivation is a finite sequence of sentences (called well-formed formulas in the case of a formal language), each of which is an axiom, an assumption, or follows from the preceding sentences in the sequence by a rule of inference. It differs from a natural language argument in that it is rigorous, unambiguous and mechanically checkable …

The theorem is a syntactic consequence of all the well-formed formulas preceding it in the proof.

If anything is being satisfied in the proof, it's the set of axioms that precedes the theorem.


However, you can say that the theorem is a necessary conclusion or a necessary consequence (of the set of axioms):

[Merriam-Webster]

conclusion
1 a : a reasoned judgment : INFERENCE
       // The obvious conclusion is that she was negligent.
1 b : the necessary consequence of two or more propositions taken as premises
especially : the inferred proposition of a syllogism

consequence
1 : a conclusion derived through logic : INFERENCE
    //… we can deduce … many consequences each of which can be tested by experiment.
— James Bryant Conant

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  • Sorry for the confusion. I want to use "satisfied" because a>c is a constraint where "a" is a variable while "b" and "c" are constants. I want to express that since "a>b", if "b>c", then constraint "a>c" should not be considered. So how should I express this? Thnaks for your suggestion. Commented Jun 3, 2020 at 10:22
  • @Jason: in optimization, constraints "are satisfied" or "hold". I agree you shouldn't use "satisfied" in other areas of mathematics. Commented Jun 3, 2020 at 11:00
  • @WangYanping I don't follow. Are you saying that a>c is not the theorem of the proof? (Axiom 1) a>b; (Axiom 2) b>c; (Theorem): a>c. That's a classic logical proof. And a>c should be considered, because it's true; in fact it's necessary. If it weren't true, then one of the previous axioms would be false. Commented Jun 3, 2020 at 13:41
  • @JasonBassford, the OP has never said that a>b and b>c are axioms; for all we know, they could be the results of some measurements. This, of course, does not affect the step from a>b and b>c, to a>c, which would still be a matter of deductive logic.
    – jsw29
    Commented Oct 1, 2020 at 20:35

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