Elementary Set Theory – Every Infinite Set Has an Infinite Countable Subset

elementary-set-theory

As the title says, that's all my question. Let me state it again:

Is it true that every infinite set has an infinite countable subset?

It seems so trivial, my thought goes like this: pick an arbitrary element and denote it as $x_1$; pick the next one and denote it $x_2$, and so on.

Is my proof correct? Since it seems so simple, I'm not sure of it.


To avoid any further confusion, the definitions used are:

Finite: In bijection with $\{1\ldots n\}$ for some $n$.
Infinite: Not finite.
Countably infinite: In bijection with $\Bbb N$.
Countable: Finite or countably infinite.

Best Answer

You are on the right track, however you cannot use the phrase "the next one". The idea is:Let $S$ be an infinte set. Pick an element $x_1\in S$, then since $\{x_1\}$ is finite, $S\setminus\{x_1\}\ne\emptyset$, so pick an element $x_2\in S\setminus\{x_1\}$ and so on.

Note the Axiom of Choice is involved here.

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