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I might have heard that in Godel's library there was a book with the note: "I have a truly marvelous proof that the U.S. Constitution is unstable, but the margi

I might have heard that in Godel's library there was a book with the note: "I have a truly marvelous proof that the U.S. Constitution is unstable, but the margin of this book is too small to write it out." More seriously, this is actually a bit reminiscent of Fermat's famous comment. I suppose when the lawbots become operational in a few years, we'll get a full logical analysis of the Constitution and find the loophole(s).

eecc 6y ago
Uhm but wouldn’t that be a halting problem?
- jimmyed 6y ago
  How is it the halting problem?
  - bregma 6y ago
    How is constitutional law subject to Goedel's Incompleteness Theorem? Everything is computer science, or at least linearly transformable into computer science.
    - setr 6y ago
      halting problem doesn't say you can't prove a program halts; it says you can't write a program to prove every program halts (or doesn't), because you can construct pathological programs to intentionally foil it. you can certainly prove some programs halt, or don't. int main(){ return 0; } int main(){ while(true){} } and presumably, the constitution has not been written in such a way that it cannot be proven halt-able, one way or the other. In which case, it's finite, and all paths can be evaluated
FrozenVoid 6y ago
Godel's loophole is technicality of minor importance if its entirely confined to the constitution. The real loophole likely relates to presidential powers in relation to constitution itself: the expansion of executive in 20th century and executive orders that have not been found contradicting the law, might allow a precedent to create an "emergency powers" system to bypass constitution itself and rule by decree('executive orders').
- matthewfelgate 6y ago
  What if the loophole is bigger and allows a individual congressperson to make a law or something?
lupire 6y ago
The Constitution is already a pile of incoherent contradictions. There's no way a computer program could formally analyze it.

eecc 6y ago

Uhm but wouldn’t that be a halting problem?

jimmyed 6y ago
How is it the halting problem?
- bregma 6y ago
  How is constitutional law subject to Goedel's Incompleteness Theorem? Everything is computer science, or at least linearly transformable into computer science.
  - setr 6y ago
    halting problem doesn't say you can't prove a program halts; it says you can't write a program to prove every program halts (or doesn't), because you can construct pathological programs to intentionally foil it. you can certainly prove some programs halt, or don't. int main(){ return 0; } int main(){ while(true){} } and presumably, the constitution has not been written in such a way that it cannot be proven halt-able, one way or the other. In which case, it's finite, and all paths can be evaluated

FrozenVoid 6y ago

Godel's loophole is technicality of minor importance if its entirely confined to the constitution. The real loophole likely relates to presidential powers in relation to constitution itself: the expansion of executive in 20th century and executive orders that have not been found contradicting the law, might allow a precedent to create an "emergency powers" system to bypass constitution itself and rule by decree('executive orders').

matthewfelgate 6y ago
What if the loophole is bigger and allows a individual congressperson to make a law or something?

lupire 6y ago

The Constitution is already a pile of incoherent contradictions. There's no way a computer program could formally analyze it.