Re: Title: A Structural Analysis of the Standard Halting Problem Proof

On 20/07/2025 17:13, Alan Mackenzie wrote:

Do you really think that for such a simple problem, known and
understood by millions over nearly a century, any flaw would
not have already been found long ago?

You're right, of course, but the above argument is not as robust
as we might hope.
"The number of human chromosomes was published by Painter in
1923. By inspection through a microscope, he counted 24 pairs of
chromosomes, giving 48 in total. His error was copied by others,
and it was not until 1956 that the true number (46) was
determined by Indonesian-born cytogeneticist Joe Hin Tjio."
And oscillating reactions were known to be impossible for quite a
while even after crank Belousov came up with one.
And of course there's another problem:

Do you really think that for such a simple problem, known and
understood by millions over nearly a century, any flaw would
not have already been found long ago?

Yes. That's /precisely/ what he really thinks. And he always will, no matter what we tell him.
--
Richard Heathfield
Email: rjh at cpax dot org dot uk
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
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