X-Message-Number: 10311 Subject: sigh. more constructivism. Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1998 19:02:36 -0400 From: "Perry E. Metzger" <> > I continue interested in the relation of Goedel's Theorem to > constructivism. I'm not particularly interested. I will note, though, that all Godel's proof says nothing about requiring non-constructive methods in one's formal system. Indeed, Godel should make constructivists shudder as much as anyone else. After all, he shows you how to construct his string -- indeed, how to construct an infinite series of Godel strings if you want them. BTW, I find the entire notion of trying to escape from Godel by abandoning formal systems to be silly. Sure, that eliminates Godel -- by eliminating any sort of rigorous metamathematics at all! If you are happy eliminating the ability to do rigorous reasoning about mathematics itself, by all means, continue on with "informal methods". Perry Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=10311