TITLE: Orthogonality checking in Kreyszig exercise
QUESTION [5 upvotes]: Let $H$ be inner product space with inner product $\langle\cdot,\cdot\rangle$ and norm $\lVert \cdot\rVert$. Let $x,y \in H$. Would you help me to prove that $\langle x,y\rangle=0$ if and only if $\lVert x+\alpha y\rVert \geq\lVert x\rVert$ for all scalar $\alpha$?
I have proved that $\langle x,y\rangle=0$ implies $\lVert x+\alpha y\rVert\geq \lVert x\rVert$, but don't know how to prove the converse. I just try to show that $\lVert x+\alpha y\rVert\geq \lVert x\rVert$ implies $\lVert x+\alpha y\rVert=\lVert x-\alpha y\rVert$ (but still not success) since this equality equivalent with  $\langle x,y\rangle=0$.
Is there any solution of this problem using this information: ∥x+αy∥=∥x−αy∥ if and only if =0 ?
Thanks.

REPLY [2 votes]: The implication you mention is not true: take any nonzero $x$, $\alpha=1$, $y=x$. Then $\|x+\alpha y\|=2\|x\|>\|x\|$. But $\|x-\alpha y\|=0\ne 2\|x\|=\|x+\alpha y\|$.
The inequality $\|x+\alpha y\|\geq\|x\|$ forces $\langle x,y\rangle =0$ when it holds for every $\alpha$, and then the canonical way to obtain the result is what Davide did in his solution. But no conclusion can be drawn from the fact that it holds for a single concrete $\alpha$.