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Preface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2009

N. Shankar
Affiliation:
SRI International, USA
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Summary

A: It's true!

B: It's not!

A: Yes, it is!

B: It couldn't be!

A: It is true!

B: Prove it!

A: Oh, it can't be proved, but nevertheless it's true.

B: Now just a minute: How can you say it's true if it can't be proved?

A: Oh, there are certain things that are true even though they can't be proved.

B: That's not true!

A: Yes, it is; Gödel proved that there are certain things that are true but that cannot be proved.

B: That's not true!

A: It certainly is!

B: It couldn't be, and even if it were true, it could never be proved!

Goodwin Sammel quoted by Raymond Smullyan [Smu83]

Electronic computers are mostly used to automate clerical tasks, but it is well known that they can also be programmed to play chess, compose music, and prove mathematical theorems. Since logical, mathematical reasoning is one of the purer forms of human, intellectual thought, the automation of such reasoning by means of electronic computers is a basic and challenging scientific problem. This book is about how computers can be used to construct and check mathematical proofs. This use of computers relies on their symbolic and deductive capabilities and is radically different from their use as fast numerical calculators. The impact of computers as intellectual, rather than clerical, tools is likely to be quite profound. This book tries to demonstrate in a concrete way that the capabilities of computing machines in this regard are quite powerful. It describes proofs of some significant theorems of mathematical logic that were completely checked by means of a computer.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1994

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  • Preface
  • N. Shankar, SRI International, USA
  • Book: Metamathematics, Machines and Gödel's Proof
  • Online publication: 16 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511569883.001
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  • Preface
  • N. Shankar, SRI International, USA
  • Book: Metamathematics, Machines and Gödel's Proof
  • Online publication: 16 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511569883.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Preface
  • N. Shankar, SRI International, USA
  • Book: Metamathematics, Machines and Gödel's Proof
  • Online publication: 16 October 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511569883.001
Available formats
×