Prove that for a monotonically increasing function \(f (x)\) the equations \(x = f (f (x))\) and \(x = f (x)\) are equivalent.
Find the largest value of the expression \(a + b + c + d - ab - bc - cd - da\), if each of the numbers \(a\), \(b\), \(c\) and \(d\) belongs to the interval \([0, 1]\).
The function \(f(x)\) on the interval \([a, b]\) is equal to the maximum of several functions of the form \(y = C \times 10^{- | x-d |}\) (where \(d\) and \(C\) are different, and all \(C\) are positive). It is given that \(f (a) = f (b)\). Prove that the sum of the lengths of the sections on which the function increases is equal to the sum of the lengths of the sections on which the function decreases.