[FOM] Feasible and Utterable Numbers

[Eray Ozkural]

On 8/18/06, jean paul van bendegem <jpvbende at vub.ac.be> wrote:
> Hence, the true challenge for the strict finitist is to show that the
> largest number *imaginable* is still a finite number.

The largest natural number definable in n bits is of course
interesting from a metamathematical perspective. [*] Please see
the following short paper by Chaitin on this issue.

http://www.umcs.maine.edu/~chaitin/bellcom.pdf

In the paper, you will notice that this function grows faster than any
computable function. However, I am unsure about your emphasis that
the number is finite, which seems obvious to me.

Regards,

[*] Obviously there is no question that the brain of a mathematician
is a finite structure, so the definition applies as it can hold only finitely
many bits.

-- 
Eray Ozkural (exa), PhD candidate.  Comp. Sci. Dept., Bilkent University, Ankara
http://www.cs.bilkent.edu.tr/~erayo
ai-philosophy: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ai-philosophy