Ever feel like logic puzzles are designed to trip you up? De Morgan's Law is your secret weapon! This powerful tool, named after Augustus De Morgan, simplifies complex logical expressions involving 'AND', 'OR', and 'NOT'.
Essentially, De Morgan's Law consists of two rules:
1. The negation of a conjunction ('AND') is the disjunction ('OR') of the negations. In simpler terms, NOT (A AND B) is the same as (NOT A) OR (NOT B).
2. The negation of a disjunction ('OR') is the conjunction ('AND') of the negations. So, NOT (A OR B) is equivalent to (NOT A) AND (NOT B).
Think of it like this: to say it's *not* the case that both A *and* B are true, is the same as saying that either A is false *or* B is false. Similarly, to say it's *not* the case that either A *or* B is true, is the same as saying that A is false *and* B is false.
De Morgan's Law isn't just abstract theory. It's used everywhere, from simplifying computer code to designing digital circuits. Understanding it can unlock a whole new level of logical clarity!