C[omp]ute

From: "andrew cooke" <andrew@...>

Date: Tue, 12 May 2009 06:35:03 -0400 (CLT)

http://www-math.mit.edu/~tchow/forcing.pdf

"In 1963, Paul Cohen stunned the mathematical world with his new technique
of forcing, which allowed him to solve several outstanding problems in set
theory at a single stroke. Perhaps most notably, he proved the
independence of the continuum hypothesis (CH) from the
Zermelo-Fraenkel-Choice (ZFC) axioms of set theory. The impact of Cohen’s
ideas on the practice of set theory, as well as on the philosophy of
mathematics, has been incalculable.

Curiously, though, despite the importance of Cohen’s work and the passage
of nearly fifty years, forcing remains totally mysterious to the
vast majority of mathematicians, even those who know a little mathematical
logic."

Andrew