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
Vlog: The Ponzi Factor book update (Oct 2020)
Hello everyone, this is Ton again. I want to do a quick vlog about updates for the book. I know that a lot has happened this year, and I will address some of that in the update, but not everything because a lot of it’s still developing. But I do want you…
The elements of a poem | Reading | Khan Academy
Hello readers! Let’s talk about poems. Poetry is a special kind of writing. If ordinary writing is like talking, then poetry is like singing. Poetry is a way of making art with language. Poems can express huge ideas or feelings. They can be about the soun…
What could be ahead for the US dollar?
Throughout the last, you know, 30-40 years, there have been many moments where we said we’re on the brink of collapse. What is the time frame you think for when this is going to get really bad? And when it does get really bad, what would that actually loo…
Studying Kids Who Kill | The Story of God
Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in the United States, we were asked by the parents of children who lost their children there to analyze brains of kids that we’ve studied who’ve killed other people versus kids in prison who’ve not. When…
Example free response question from AP macroeconomics | AP Macroeconomics | Khan Academy
Video, I want to tackle an entire AP Macroeconomics free response exercise with you. Assume that the economy of Country X has an actual unemployment rate of seven percent, a natural rate of unemployment of five percent, and an inflation rate of three perc…
How They Caught The Golden State Killer
This video includes a discussion of serious crimes, which may be disturbing for some viewers, so I wanted to let you know that upfront. But I think it’s necessary to talk about these crimes in some detail for reasons that will become apparent. In the smal…