Saturday, March 5, 2016

Undecidability

Or, we might say undecidable-ness. Quora has had some discussion of this topic, from the viewpoint of the Halting Problem as described by Turing. We have mentioned the issue, too. But, our use points to the larger picture (undecidable) related to mindless pursuit of all things computational. What gives here?

We'll be back discussing that, but here are pointers to items that look at technical details.
  • Undecidability Tangent - This video is Part 1 of 3. It starts with Euclid's geometry and the issue of parallel lines. Then, it goes into Russell's paradox. Finally, Turing's take. 
  • Undecidable Problems: A Sampler - This paper discusses how "undecidable decision problems" arise in mathematics. These are shown to be "at least as hard as the halting problem" which is the focus of computational logic. 
  • Undecidability everywhere - Bjorn Poonen's paranoiac view? No. 
Again, the rampant rush after automation seems to be short-sighted from several angles. How do we get this on the table for discussion?

Remarks: Modified: 08/08/2019

08/08/2019 -- Nash equilibria and hardness raises its head. We'll need logic as well as numerics.

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