I'm proving something via induction (which has turned into strong induction) and there's something I've never really fully understood about strong induction. The name "strong induction" does make it sound like a more 'powerful' version of induction - but surely this is somewhat counter-intuitive (at least in my mind) given the implications of strong induction?
Just going to the definition of strong induction, it lets you assume that not only does the inductive hypothesis hold for some integer, but also that it holds for all integers less than it as well.
In my mind, assuming something is true for more than one cases isn't as powerful as assuming it's true for only one value and using that as a basis. In my proof, I've had to use not only the $n=k$ assumption, but also the assumption it holds for $n = k-1$, and I really can't see how this is 'strong' or 'complete' induction.
I'm sure someone can enlighten me! Thanks everyone.