相关论文: How real are real numbers?
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…
We present a characterization of the completeness of the field of real numbers in the form of a \emph{collection of several equivalent statements} borrowed from algebra, real analysis, general topology, and non-standard analysis. We also…
The aim of this paper is to study the relationship between reduction numbers and Borel-fixed ideals in all characteristics. By definition, Borel-fixed ideals are closed under certain specializations which is similar to the strong stability.…
We investigate which infinite binary sequences (reals) are effectively random with respect to some continuous (i.e., non-atomic) probability measure. We prove that for every n, all but countably many reals are n-random for such a measure,…
The debate instigated by the seminal works of Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen, and Bell, put the notions of realism and nonlocality at the core of almost all philosophical and physical discussions underlying the foundations of quantum mechanics.…
Since the theory developed by Georg Cantor, mathematicians have taken a sharp interest in the sizes of infinite sets. We know that the set of integers is infinitely countable and that its cardinality is Aleph0. Cantor proved in 1891 with…
We prove independence of normality to different bases We show that the set of real numbers that are normal to some base is Sigma^0_4 complete in the Borel hierarchy of subsets of real numbers. This was an open problem, initiated by…
In the context of earlier work, we investigate the emergence of a "distance" in the physical world. For this we consider a Cantor ternary like process, but much more general: properties like perfectness and disconnectedness are not invoked,…
We use entropy rates and Schur concavity to prove that, for every integer k >= 2, every nonzero rational number q, and every real number alpha, the base-k expansions of alpha, q+alpha, and q*alpha all have the same finite-state dimension…
We define some natural notions of strong and weak Borel Ramsey properties for countable Borel equivalence relations and show that they hold for a countable Borel equivalence relation if and only if the equivalence relation is smooth. We…
We prove that many seemingly simple theories have Borel complete reducts. Specifically, if a countable theory has uncountably many complete 1-types, then it has a Borel complete reduct. Similarly, if $Th(M)$ is not small, then $M^{eq}$ has…
The study of Borel equivalence relations under Borel reducibility has developed into an important area of descriptive set theory. The dichotomies of Silver and Harrington-Kechris-Louveau show that with respect to Borel reducibility, any…
Let $b \ge 2$ and $\ell \ge 1$ be integers. We establish that there is an absolute real number $K$ such that all the partial quotients of the rational number $$ \prod_{h = 0}^\ell \, (1 - b^{-2^h}), $$ of denominator $b^{2^{\ell+1} - 1}$,…
Eugene Wigner's much-discussed notion of the "unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics" as applied to describing the physics of empirical reality is simultaneously both trivial and profound. After all, the relevant mathematics was (in the…
Mathematics and its relation to the physical universe have been the topic of speculation since the days of Pythagoras. Several different views of the nature of mathematics have been considered: Realism - mathematics exists and is…
Theorems crucial in elementary real function theory have proofs in which compactness arguments are used. Despite the introduction in relatively recent literature of each new highly elegant compactness argument, or of an equivalent, this…
We contribute to the lively debate in current scholarship on the Leibnizian calculus. In a recent text, Arthur and Rabouin argue that non-Archimedean continua are incompatible with Leibniz's concepts of number, quantity and magnitude. They…
The notions of potential infinity (understood as expressing a direction) and actual infinity (expressing a quantity) are investigated. It is shown that the notion of actual infinity is inconsistent, because the set of all (finite) natural…
There are numerous ways to represent real numbers. We may use, e.g., Cauchy sequences, Dedekind cuts, numerical base-10 expansions, numerical base-2 expansions and continued fractions. If we work with full Turing computability, all these…
We address some fundamental problems concerning the structure of idealistic equivalence relations. In particular, we show that, under analytic determinacy, there are continuum many idealistic analytic equivalence relations that are not…