G. J. Chaitin, Hebrew University Lecture, Jerusalem, Wednesday September 17, 2008

[[[Former Title: A Century of Controversy over the Foundations of Mathematics]]]

The Search for the Perfect Language

• I'll tell you how the search for certainty led to incompleteness, uncomputability & randomness,
• and the unexpected result of the search for the perfect language.

Bibliography

• Umberto Eco, The Search for the Perfect Language, in Italian, French, English...
• Chaitin, Meta Math (USA), Meta Maths (UK), Alla ricerca di omega, Hasard et complexité en mathématiques + Greek + Japanese + Portuguese
• David Malone, Dangerous Knowledge, BBC TV, 90 minutes

Umberto Eco, The Search for the Perfect Language

• Language of creation (Hebrew?)
• How God summoned things into being by naming them
• Expresses inner structure of world
• Kabbalah
• Ramon Llull ∼ 1200
  • Combine concepts in all possible ways mechanically
  • Wheels
• Source of all (universal) knowledge!

Leibniz

• Mechanical reasoning
• Characteristica universalis
• Calculus ratiocinator
• Settle disputes: "Gentlemen, let us compute!"
• Computer to multiply
• Binary arithmetic, base-two
• Christian Huygens: "The calculus is too mechanical!"

Georg Cantor

• Mathematical theology!
• Infinite sets, infinite numbers
• Transfinite ordinals: 0, 1, 2, 3 ... ω, ω+1 ... 2ω ... ω² ... ω^ω ... ω^ωωωω...
• Transfinite cardinals: Integers = ℵ₀, reals = ℵ₁, ℵ₂, ℵ₃ ... ℵ_ω ... ℵ_ω^ω ... ℵ _{ω^ωωωω...}
• Hilbert/Poincaré: Set theory = heaven/disease!

Bertrand Russell

• Cantor's diagonal argument: Set of all subsets gives next cardinal.
• Russell's paradox: Is the set of all subsets of the universal set bigger than the universal set?!
• Problem: Set of all sets that are not members of (in) themselves.
• Member of itself or not?!

David Hilbert

• Formalize all math = TOE = Theory of Everything
• Objective not subjective truth
• Absolute truth — black or white, not gray
• Formal axiomatic theory for all mathematics:
  • Has proof-checking algorithm.
  • Has algorithm to generate all the theorems in the theory.
• Meta-mathematics: Study from outside.

Positive Work on Hilbert's Program

• John von Neumann
• Zermelo-Fraenkel

John von Neumann

• Monist ontology (Spinoza!)
• 0 = {}     empty set
• 1 = {0} = {{}}
• 2 = {0, 1} = {{}, {{}}}
• ω = {0, 1, 2, 3, ...}
• Everything is a set!
• Including ordered pairs, sequences & functions.
• All math built from empty set.

Abraham Fraenkel
(Hebrew University)

• Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory = Abstract, formal set theory
• First-order logic
• Axiom of choice
• Avoids sets that are too big.

Negative Work on Hilbert's Program

• Gödel, 1931
• Turing, 1936
• Algorithmic Information Theory (AIT), 1960s → present

Kurt Gödel, 1931

• "This statement is false!"
• True or false?
• "This statement is unprovable!"
• Provable or unprovable?
• No TOE for mathematics!
• Incompleteness!

Alan Turing, 1936

• Universal Turing machine = Universal programming language
• The Halting Problem!
• Uncomputability ⇒ Incompleteness

Algorithmic Information Theory

• Program-Size Complexity =
  • minimum size program,
  • minimum number of yes/no decisions God has to make to create something.
• U(π_C p) = C(p)     Simulation!
• Given program p for computer C, concatenate prefix π_C to p.
• Universal machine U simulates the computation C performs given p.
• Most concise, expressive
  • universal Turing machine,
  • universal programming language.
• The Halting Probability Ω.
• Randomness = Irreducible complexity ⇒ Incompleteness!

Negative Conclusions

• Hilbert's search for the perfect language giving all math knowledge
• (= formal axiomatic theory for all of mathematics)
• cannot succeed!
• Every formal axiomatic theory is incomplete, as shown by Gödel, Turing, Ω.
• Search for certainty ⇒ Incompleteness, uncomputability & randomness.
• Nevertheless, mathematicians remain enamored with formal proof:
• See AMS Notices special issue on formal proof, December 2008.

Positive Conclusions

• However, perfect languages have emerged for computing, not for reasoning.
• Universal Turing machines and universal programming languages can all simulate each other.
• Most expressive, concise languages: U(π_C p) = C(p).
• AIT's program-size complexity is a measure of conceptual complexity, of complexity of ideas.
• Furthermore, viewed from the perspective of the Middle Ages, programming languages
• give us the God-like power to breathe life into (some) inanimate matter:
• Hardware ≈ Body, Software ≈ Soul!