
Can a puzzle have missing pieces we can't see?
Image: Raphael, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Can a puzzle have missing pieces we can't see?
Imagine you're trying to finish a puzzle with a friend, but you realize there are pieces that you can't find, no matter how hard you search.
Gödel's incompleteness theorems show that in certain puzzles (formal systems), there are truths (pieces) that can't be found (proven) within the rules of the puzzle.
Example
You're searching for a piece that fits perfectly, but it's missing, even though you know it should be there.
Remember this
Some puzzles have missing pieces that we can't solve, no matter how well we understand the rules.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Foundations of mathematics
Can math ever be truly complete and consistent?
Rule of inference
Can a mathematician prove everything in logic?
Proof of impossibility
Can a perfect square root be neatly packaged as a simple fraction?
Philosophy of artificial intelligence
Can machines ever truly think like humans?
Proof sketch for Gödel's first incompleteness theorem
Can a computer always decide if a program will finish running?
Problem of universals
Universals question independent existence
Swipe through more Philosophy concepts
Open Pocket Polymath