[RUME] Mathematical proofs becoming harder to verify?

[Tevian Dray]

> A colleague sent this URL to me, and I am really curious to hear what others
> think!

> A mathematical proof is irrefutably true, a manifestation of pure logic. But
> an increasing number of mathematical proofs are now impossible to verify
> with absolute certainty, according to experts in the field.

> Link to story: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/fundamentals/dn8743.html

It is certainly true that an increasing number of major mathematical theorems
have proofs which are so long that verification is tedious to impossible.  But
I would argue that the miracle is that such proofs exist at all, rather than
that this represents the future of mathematics.  There are still plenty of
theorems being proved the old-fashioned way, with easily verifiable,
relatively short proofs.

Tevian

Tevian Dray
Professor of Mathematics
Director, Vector Calculus Bridge Project

MAIL:	   Dept. of Mathematics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR  97331
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