From Ebbinghaus, Flum, and Thomas' Mathematical Logic, chapter 2, exercise 1.3:
Let α:N→R be given. For a,b∈R
such that a<b show that there is a point c in the closed interval
I=[a,b] such that c∈/{α(n):n∈N}.
Conclude from this that I, and hence R also, are uncountable.
(Hint: By induction define a sequence I=I0⊃I1⊃…
of closed intervals such that α(n)∈/In+1 and use the fact that
⋂n∈NIn=∅.)
Define I0=[a,b]. For any n≥0, if In=[an,bn],
let m=2an+bn and define
In+1=⎩⎪⎪⎨⎪⎪⎧[an,m][m,bn][an,2an+m]if α(n)>mif α(n)<mif α(n)=mFor any n≥0, we can see that for any value of α(n), we have
α(n)∈/In+1, so α(n)∈/⋂k∈NIk
Therefore, if c∈⋂n∈NIn, then c=α(n)
for any n∈N.
As ⋂n∈NIn=∅ there is some
c∈⋂n∈NIn, and for this c, we have
c∈I0=[a,b] (and c∈R) and c=α(n)
for any n∈N, so for any given α, then α
is not surjective onto [a,b] (and R).
Therefore, [a,b] (and R) is not countable.