MAA Writing Awards
Large Numbers and Unprovable Theorems
Year of Award: 1984
Award: Lester R. Ford
Publication Information: The American Mathematical Monthly, vol. 90, 1983, pp. 669-675
Summary: This article looks at some fast-growing recursively-defined sequences, and examines the sense in which these can be beyond the scope of Peano Arithmetic. A connection to Paris and Harrington's combinatorial statement that is "true but unprovable in PA" is also discussed.
About the Author: Joel Spencer was at SUNY Stony Brook at the time of publication.
