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298 votes
34 answers
53k views

What are some reasonable-sounding statements that are independent of ZFC?

Every now and then, somebody will tell me about a question. When I start thinking about it, they say, "actually, it's undecidable in ZFC." For example, suppose $A$ is an abelian group such ...
135 votes
43 answers
38k views

What are the most attractive Turing undecidable problems in mathematics?

What are the most attractive Turing undecidable problems in mathematics? There are thousands of examples, so please post here only the most attractive, best examples. Some examples already appear on ...
51 votes
30 answers
8k views

Taking a theorem as a definition and proving the original definition as a theorem

Gian-Carlo Rota's famous 1991 essay, "The pernicious influence of mathematics upon philosophy" contains the following passage: Perform the following thought experiment. Suppose that you are ...
19 votes
14 answers
4k views

Excellent uses of induction and recursion

Can you make an example of a great proof by induction or construction by recursion? Given that you already have your own idea of what "great" means, here it can also be taken to mean that the chosen ...
13 votes
2 answers
1k views

Contrasting theorems in classical logic and constructivism

Is it possible there are examples of where classical logic proves a theorem that provably is false within constructivism? Is so what are some examples? What are some examples of most contrasting ...