Overview
Mathematical induction is a method for proving that a statement is true for every natural number , that is, that the infinitely many cases all hold. This is done by first proving a simple case, then also showing that if we assume the claim is true for a given case, then the next case is also true. Informal metaphors help to explain this technique, such as falling dominoes or climbing a ladder:
Mathematical induction proves that we can climb as high as we like on a ladder, by proving that we can climb onto the bottom rung and that from each rung we can climb up to the next one.