To formalize means writing an expression in a standard form which anyone can understand.
When working with logical algorithms, you can be thinking all the time in phrases like ``If I have a LCD screen but it has too many dead pixels, then I need another monitor''. You can, but they are too long. It's better to represent each action with a letter, and write the phrase using such letters along with simple words like and, or, not, or then.
For example, we have this vocabulary:
: have a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) monitor
: have all pixels working perfectly, with not too many fused ones
: need a new monitor
The phrase ``If I have a LCD screen but it has too many dead pixels, then I need another monitor'' is better expressed by ``if and not , then ''.
At natural deduction we will only use the version with letters, following these conditions:
Daniel Clemente Laboreo 2005-05-17