Abstract
One of the main topics of discussion in Douglas Hofstadter’s Pulitzer-prize-win-ning book Godei, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid is the concept of deriving theorems in a formal system. To give his readers a better idea of what a formal system is, Hofstadter discusses a simple example of such a system, called the MIU system. Although the example may not have been designed for instructional use, to a teacher of mathematics it seems ready-made for the classroom. Indeed, the MIU system can not only provide an instructional unit on some important topics in mathematics, it can also be used to lead students to investigate some fascinating ideas from computer science and artificial intelligence. The present article will describe the MIU system and indicate a number of possible uses for it in the mathematics classroom.
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