Larry_D'Anna comments on The Cartoon Guide to Löb's Theorem - Less Wrong

12 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 17 August 2008 08:35PM

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Comment author: Larry_D'Anna 22 August 2008 05:56:00PM 0 points [-]

J Thomas: "How is that useful?"

I'm just answering your question

"Can you prove that if PA proved 6 was a prime number then 6 would be a prime number? How would you do it?"

I'm not stating that proving implications with false antecedent is particularly useful, just that it is valid. Also aside from 6 being prime it is true that for any sentence phi, ZF |- "if PA |- phi then phi", but that ZF cannot even say, yet alone prove that "forall phi. if PA |- phi then phi". But it can prove "forall phi. if PA |- phi then N |= phi".