[FOM] Harvey Friedman and PD vs V=L

[Martin Davis]

In a major address given some years ago in Champaign-Urbana, Harvey 
disparaged the elaborate picture of  the projective set hierarchy obtained 
by assuming projective determinacy as compared with the much simpler view 
under V=L. The only argument he gave for this was that mathematicians 
preferred the simpler view.

In his recent interchange with Arnon, Harvey explained carefully his 
reasons for soliciting impressions among "core" mathematicians of results 
he obtains as consequences of large cardinal axioms. He specifically 
discounted Arnon's suggestion that he was doing this to obtain a "kosher" 
stamp for his results.

In a private email to Harvey, I asked him whether this indicated a change 
of mind on his part, and he suggested that I raise the matter on FOM.


                           Martin Davis
                    Visiting Scholar UC Berkeley
                      Professor Emeritus, NYU
                          martin at eipye.com
                          (Add 1 and get 0)
                        http://www.eipye.com