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SCIENCE STUDIES EVENTS
GÖDEL'S INCOMPLETENESS THEOREM IN A NUTSHELL
Stephen Fenner
Computer Science and Engineering
University of South Carolina, Columbia
September 17, 2003
Wednesday, 12:30pm
Preston Seminar Room
Time Magazine recently listed Gödel's incompleteness theorem as one of the
great intellectual achievements of the 20th century. The theorem states
that any reasonable mathematical theory must contain statements that can be
neither proven nor refuted. The disturbing possibility that many unsolved
mathematical problems (and we cannot tell which) must remain unsolved
forever has deeply affected the foundations of mathematics. Despite its
significance, Gödel's theorem is quite simple at its core. I will present a
short proof of the theorem, based on a few elementary and reasonably
evident facts about computer programs and their behavior.
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