Informal proof, formal proof, formalism

Increases in the use of automated theorem-provers have renewed focus on the relationship between the informal proofs normally found in mathematical research and fully formalised derivations. Whereas some claim that any correct proof will be underwritten by a fully formal proof, sceptics demur. In this paper I look at the relevance of these issues for formalism, construed as an anti-platonistic metaphysical doctrine. I argue that there are strong reasons to doubt that all proofs are fully formalisable, if formal proofs are required to be finitary, but that, on a proper view of the way in which formal proofs idealise actual practice, this restriction is unjustified and formalism is not threatened

Helping out by helping in : approaches to electronic submission of coursework

In this paper, we seek to address a range of issues that affect the use and applicability of electronic coursework submission. Key among these issues is the need to characterise the available mechanisms for supporting such submission. Allied to this, we require an appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses that would enable us to distinguish and choose wisely among the alternatives

Book review: Stumbling over truth: the inside story of the'sexed-up' dossier, Hutton and the BBC

The 2004 Hutton Report ushered in an age of self-doubt and caution at the BBC. It was also the end of the most extraordinary experiment in news management Britain has ever seen: the decade of Alastair Campbell, the Blair courtier who delivered New Labour’s mission to ‘create the truth’. In Stumbling Over Truth, Kevin Marsh tells of his growing disillusion with the British media’s appetite for holding power to account. An important book for anyone who wants to understand the toe-to-toe confrontations between Tony Blair’s government and the BBC, and the fight to keep BBC journalism independent in the face of unprecedented government pressure. Reviewed by Patrick Weir

Dialogue expertise in man-machine systems

The present paper considers the nature of interaction in man-machine systems with special attention to the role of dialogue. Based upon this understanding, a concept of 'dialogue expertise' is derived in a specific facility for mediation. In particular, it is the ability to mediate between user and system so as to (one way) map operator objectives onto system functions, and (the other way) express systems states in terms which are meaningful to the operator. This leads to the view that dialogue expertise is feasible in man-machine sytems through the use of functional separation in the design of interface systems