Related papers: The Consistency of Arithmetic
The prevalent interpretation of G\"odel's Second Theorem states that a sufficiently adequate and consistent theory does not prove its consistency. It is however not entirely clear how to justify this informal reading, as the formulation of…
G\"odel's second incompleteness theorem is proved for Herbrand consistency of some arithmetical theories with bounded induction, by using a technique of logarithmic shrinking the witnesses of bounded formulas, due to Z. Adamowicz [Herbrand…
Using an iterated Horner schema for evaluation of diophantine polynomials, we define a partial $\mu$-recursive "decision" algorithm decis as a "race" for a first nullstelle versus a first (internal) proof of non-nullity for such a…
This work has been prompted by the surprising lack of mathematical coherence in the common usage of some of the fundamental entities in the theory of probability, with an inherent risk of contradiction. While disentangling the intricacies,…
Mathematical proofs are often said to justify their conclusions by indicating the existence of a corresponding formal derivation. We argue that this widespread view relies on an under-examined notion of correspondence, or what it means for…
We present a manuscript of Paul Lorenzen that provides a proof of consistency for elementary number theory as an application of the construction of the free countably complete pseudocomplemented semilattice over a preordered set. This…
We use algorithmic methods from online learning to explore some important objects at the intersection of model theory and combinatorics, and find natural ways that algorithmic methods can detect and explain (and improve our understanding…
The 20th century has revealed two important limitations of scientific knowledge. On the one hand, the combination of Poincar\'e's nonlinear dynamics and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle leads to a world picture where physical reality is,…
Von Neumann established that discretized algebraic equations must be consistent with the differential equations, and must be stable in order to obtain convergent numerical solutions for the given differential equations. The "stability" is…
Goodstein sequences are numerical sequences in which a natural number m, expressed as the complete normal form to a given base a, is modified by increasing the value of the base a by one unit and subtracting one unit from the resulting…
It has been the standard teaching of today that backward stability analysis is taught as absolute, just as in Newtonian physics time is taught absolute time. We will prove it is not true in general. It depends on algorithms. We will prove…
The consistency problem for a class of algebraic structures asks for an algorithm to decide for any given conjunction of equations whether it admits a non-trivial satisfying assignment within some member of the class. By Adyan (1955) and…
The standard interpretation of first-order number theory (PA), according to the generally accepted view, associates well-defined set-theoretic entities with each and every well-formed formula of this system. But this implies that the class…
We have published several articles about generalizations and boundary-case exceptions to the Second Incompleteness Theorem during the last 25 years. The current paper will review some of our prior results and also introduce an `enriched'…
The consistency formula for set theory can be stated in terms of the free-variables theory of primitive recursive maps. Free-variable p. r. predicates are decidable by set theory, main result here, built on recursive evaluation of p. r. map…
This article critically reappraises arguments in support of Cantor's theory of transfinite numbers. The following results are reported: i) Cantor's proofs of nondenumerability are refuted by analyzing the logical inconsistencies in…
D. Bailey and R. E. Crandall recently formulated a "Hypothesis A", which provides a general principle to explain the (conjectured) normality of constants like pi or log 2 and other related numbers, to base 2 or other integer bases. This…
The consistency of posterior distributions in density estimation is at the core of Bayesian statistical theory. Classical work established sufficient conditions, typically combining KL support with complexity bounds on sieves of high prior…
We indicate that an argument of da Costa and Doria in fact proves P=NP. This observation makes their argument appear dubious. We isolate a weak version of one of their lemmas which would already prove P=NP. We point out that even this weak…
This paper argues that, insofar as we doubt the bivalence of the Continuum Hypothesis or the truth of the Axiom of Choice, we should also doubt the consistency of third-order arithmetic, both the classical and intuitionistic versions.…