Our first speaker of the semester will be Sam Lind, who will speak on Godel’s Theorem (abstract below). Join us on Wednesday, 9/26 at 5:30 in LGRT 1634 for pizza, soda, and some great math!
Godel’s Theorems: A Look At One of the Most Mindblowing Results of the
20th Century
Have you ever wondered if physics could come up with a “theory of
everything”? Of perhaps you have wondered whether in the future we
will devise computer security which is 100% un-hackable. Probably you
have also wondered whether there is a difference between the material
of your body and your self or your mind. As it turns out, a legendary
result from formal logic bears upon all three of three of these
seemingly disparate questions. In 1931 the logician Kurt Godel proved
two astonishing theorems, which effectively asserted that: 1. There
are true statements which (a form of) mathematics will never be able
to prove and 2. We can never prove with 100% certainty that our
mathematics is consistent, i.e. free of contradictions. This talk will
discuss some of the background to these questions, will explain the
ideas behind Godel’s proof, and elaborate on these theorems’
connections to other deep questions in fields like mathematics,
computer science, and philosophy. No significant math background is
required!