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The four color theorem was proved by brute forcing every possible contradiction with a computer and finding that no contradiction existed. Therefore the four co
by sillysaurus3 12y ago
The four color theorem was proved by brute forcing every possible contradiction with a computer and finding that no contradiction existed. Therefore the four color theorem was proved to be true. Why is that a problem?
- lutusp 12y agoAt the time, the problem was that most reviewers couldn't understand the code that produced the result, so they felt that they were accepting a result they couldn't meaningfully review or independently confirm. A lesser issue was philosophical -- it didn't seem like mathematics was "supposed" to be conducted. This second issue has pretty much evaporated in the intervening years.