yego.me
💡 Stop wasting time. Read Youtube instead of watch. Download Chrome Extension

We Can’t Prove Most Theorems with Known Physics


2m read
·Nov 3, 2024

Processing might take a few minutes. Refresh later.

The overwhelming majority of theorems in mathematics are theorems that we cannot possibly prove. This is Girdle's theorem, and it also comes out of Turing's proof of what is and is not computable. These things that are not computable vastly outnumber the things that are computable, and what is computable depends entirely upon what computers we can make in this physical universe.

The computers that we can make must obey our laws of physics. If the laws of physics were different, then we'd be able to prove different sorts of mathematics. This is another part of the mathematician's misconception: they think they can get outside of the laws of physics. However, their brain is just a physical computer. Their brain must obey the laws of physics.

If they existed in a universe with different laws of physics, then they could prove different theorems. But we exist in the universe that we're in, and so we're bound by a whole bunch of things, not least of which is the finite speed of light. So there could be certain things out there in abstract space which we would be able to come to a more full understanding of if we could get outside of the restrictions of the laws of physics here.

Happily, none of those theorems that we cannot prove at the moment are inherently interesting. Some things can be inherently boring; namely, all of these theorems which we cannot possibly prove as true or false. Those theorems can't have any bearing in our physical universe. They have nothing to do with our physical universe, and this is why we say they're inherently uninteresting. There's a lot of inherently uninteresting things...

More Articles

View All
Advantage | Vocabulary | Khan Academy
I have The High Ground, word Smiths, because we’re talking about the word advantage in this video. Advantage, a noun, it means a better position, something that helps. If we’re running a foot race and I get a three-minute head start over you, that’s a de…
Khan Academy learning plans for school closures
The goal of this video is to introduce you to the idea of learning plans on Khan Academy, and I’m going to focus on a plan for sixth grade math. But what I’m talking about is as applicable to fourth grade math as it is to sixth grade math, as it is to som…
Nietzsche - Don’t Let Your Darkness Consume You
In /On the Genealogy of Morals/, Nietzsche compares the feeling of resentment to a toxin or an illness, because he believes that resentment is anti-life and anti-growth. This is a sentiment I agree with, and it’s an idea I wanna explore for myself. Why do…
The Next Great Depression - How To Prepare
What’s gram up? It’s guys, you here, and it’s official: as of today, the bear market just hit a brand new low. Most people believe the economy is about to fall even further. For instance, Michael Burry just went on record to say that the S&P 500 still…
Interpreting trigonometric graphs in context | Trigonometry | Algebra || | Khan Academy
We’re told Alexa is riding on a Ferris wheel. Her height above the ground in meters is modeled by ( h(t) ), where ( t ) is the time in seconds, and we can see that right over here. Now, what I want to focus on in this video is some features of this graph.…
I’m an IDIOT for getting a credit card...
What’s up you guys, it’s great I’m here. So let’s just say this: I did not expect to get so many views on the unboxing of the JP Morgan Reserve card. So if you’re brand new here, welcome! My name is Graham. I flex credit cards, duplexes, and lotuses. So h…