Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 130 1 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Suppose the Finite Ramsey theorem failed for fixed positive integers . For every choose a -coloring with no monochromatic -set. There are only finitely many colorings of , so an infinite subsequence of the agrees there. Pass to a further infinite subsequence agreeing on , and continue. The diagonal argument produces compatible colorings such that and no has a monochromatic -set.
Define whenever . Compatibility makes this a well-defined finite coloring of . By Ramsey's theorem it has an infinite monochromatic set, whose first elements contradict the defining property of a sufficiently large . This compactness argument proves the finite statement.