In set theory, a branch of mathematics, the Milner – Rado paradox, found by Eric Charles Milner and Richard Rado (1965), states that every ordinal number α less than the successor κ+ of some cardinal number κ can be written as the union of sets X1,X2,... where Xn is of order type at most κn for n a positive integer.
Proof
The proof is by transfinite induction. Let
Fix an increasing sequence
Note
Define:
Observe that:
and so
Let
Noting that the sets