Independence Results in Computer Science
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Author
Hartmanis, Juris
Hopcroft, John E.
Abstract
In this note we show that instances of problems which appear naturally in computer science cannot be answered in formalized set theory. We show, for example, that some relativized versions of the famous P = NP problem cannot be answered in formalized set theory, that explicit algorithms can be given whose running time is independent of the axioms of set theory, and that one can exhibit a specific context-free grammar G for which it cannot be proven in set theory that $L(G) = \sum^{*}$ or $L(G) \neq \sum^{*}$.
Date Issued
1976-12
Publisher
Cornell University
Keywords
Previously Published as
http://techreports.library.cornell.edu:8081/Dienst/UI/1.0/Display/cul.cs/TR76-296
Type
technical report