5 ms·
> Logic is the science of the possible. As such, it is at the root of all other sciences, all of which are sciences of the actual, i.e. that which really exists
by antonzabirko 5y ago
> Logic is the science of the possible. As such, it is at the root of all other sciences, all of which are sciences of the actual, i.e. that which really exists.
Logic describes our universe well but even here it starts falling apart pretty fast. The idea of axiomatic systems as we know them is flawed. Mainly due to Godel's and partly from what we know of the psyche.
- amw-zero 5y agoGödel's incompleteness theorem is very similar to the halting problem, in that they are both really profound results, but they have almost no bearing on the practical benefits of logic / computation. In the halting problem example, how often do you create infinite loops as a programmer? Even in the software verification space, proving termination of an algorithm is fairly simple. So, the halting problem doesn't really affect us in daily programming. The same with the incompleteness theorem. The fact that we can't say _every single thing possible_ (completeness) has no bearing on our ability to say _an innumerable amount of very practical things._ The amount of things that formal logic can express is so vast and useful that, to call it "flawed" is a pretty big misunderstanding on the incompleteness theorem.
- guerby 5y agoThe halting problem is intractable only with infinite memory (infinite tape for turing machines). Our current computers all have finite memory and so a trivial algorithm can tell if a real program on a real computer will halt (terminate) or not. Of course the trivial algorithm has huge (but finite) memory requirement :)
- antonzabirko 5y agoExtrapolating logic to other realities requires no gaps in the system though. If it doesn't encompass our own reality how can we assume that it would even exist in others?
- boris_m 5y agoWell, it has it's limits, but wouldn't call it "flawed". Regarding the psyche part, I have actually written an article about that which might change your opinion https://boris-marinov.github.io/logic-thought/ https://boris-marinov.github.io/logic-thought/
- vcxy 5y agoThe incompleteness theorems don't imply a flaw. It's just a property of sufficiently rich systems.
- antonzabirko 5y agoIt does imply a flaw if you intend to extrapolate it to other unknown systems.