283 research outputs found

    Mathematical proofs and scientific discovery

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    The idea that science can be automated is so deeply related to the view that the method of mathematics is the axiomatic method, that confuting the claim that mathematical knowledge can be extended by means of the axiomatic method is almost equivalent to confuting the claim that science can be automated. I argue that the axiomatic view is inadequate as a view of the method of mathematics and that the analytic view is to be preferred. But, if the method of mathematics and natural sciences is the analytic method, then the advancement of knowledge cannot be mechanized, since non-deductive reasoning plays a crucial role in the analytic method, and non-deductive reasoning cannot be fully mechanized

    Two formalisms of extended possibilistic logic programming with context-dependent fuzzy unification A comparative description

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    AbstractPossibilistic logic is a logic of uncertainty where a certainty degree between 0 and 1, interpreted as a lower bound of a necessity measure, is attached to each classical formula. In this paper we present a comparative description of two models extending first order possibilistic logic so as to allow for fuzzy unification. The first formalism, called PLFC, is a general extension that allows clauses with fuzzy constants and fuzzily restricted quantifiers. The second formalism is an implication-based extension defined on top of Gödel infinitely-valued logic, capable of dealing with fuzzy constants. In this paper we compare these approaches, mainly their Horn-clause fragments, discussing their basic differences, specially in what regards their unification and automated deduction mechanisms

    For Cybersecurity, Computer Science Must Rely on the Opposite of Gödel’s Results

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    This article shows how fundamental higher-order theories of mathematical structures of computer science (e.g. natural numbers [Dedekind 1888] and Actors [Hewitt et. al. 1973]) are cetegorical meaning that they can be axiomatized up to a unique isomorphism thereby removing any ambiguity in the mathematical structures being axiomatized. Having these mathematical structures precisely defined can make systems more secure because there are fewer ambiguities and holes for cyberattackers to exploit. For example, there are no infinite elements in models for natural numbers to be exploited. On the other hand, the 1st-order theories of Gödel’s results necessarily leave the mathematical structures ill-defined, e.g., there are necessarily models with infinite integers. Cyberattackers have severely damaged national, corporate, and individual security as well causing hundreds of billions of dollars of economic damage. A significant cause of the damage is that current engineering practices are not sufficiently grounded in theoretical principles. In the last two decades, little new theoretical work has been done that practically impacts large engineering projects with the result that computer systems engineering education is insufficient in providing theoretical grounding. If the current cybersecurity situation is not quickly remedied, it will soon become much worse because of the projected development of Scalable Intelligent Systems by 2025 [Hewitt 2019]. Gödel strongly advocated that the Turing Machine is the preeminent universal model of computation. A Turing machine formalizes an algorithm in which computation proceeds without external interaction. However, computing is now highly interactive, which this article proves is beyond the capability of a Turing Machine. Instead of the Turing Machine model, this article presents an axiomatization of a universal model of digital computation (including implementation of Scalable Intelligent Systems) up to a unique isomorphism
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