Slashdot Mirror


The End of Mathematical Proofs by Humans?

vivin writes "I recall how I did a bunch of Mathematical Proofs when I was in high school. In fact, proofs were an important part of Math according to the CBSE curriculum in Indian Schools. We were taught how to analyze complex problems and then break them down into simple (atomic) steps. It is similar to the derivation of a Physics formula. Proofs form a significant part of what Mathematicians do. However, according to this article from the Economist, it seems that the use of computers to generate proofs is causing mathematicians to 're-examine the foundations of their discipline.' However, critics of computer-aided proofs say that the proofs are hard to verify due to the large number of steps and hence, may be inherently flawed. Defenders of the same point out that there are non computer-aided proofs that are also rather large and unverifiable, like the Classification of Simple Finite Groups. Computer-aided proofs have been instrumental in solving some vexing problems like the Four Color Theorem."

2 of 549 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Consider the source by arodland · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    The Economist doesn't correspond to either of your pitiful, disgusting "wings", and that is good.

  2. Re:Test mod-bots by Omniscientist · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I'm tempted to mod up parent AC as funny because it is hilarious that he/she was actually modded as troll, but...well that would destroy the whole point.