Are there infinitely many counterexamples to the Goldbach Conjecture? Is it possible to find out?

Importance: Low ✭
Author(s): Nguyen, Nam
Subject: Logic
Recomm. for undergrads: no
Posted by: namducnguyen
on: August 24th, 2012

We'll define the formula cGC (called counter-Golbach-Conjecture, for lack of better word) in full details below but it's sufficient to say that:

cGC means "There are infinitely many counter examples of Golbach-Conjecture"

while its negation:

neg(cGC) means "There are zero or finitely many counter examples of Golbach-Conjecture".

At the heart of the problem is the question, say Q, of whether or not it's impossible to know, to model theoretically prove or verify, that cGC is arithmetically true or false (i.e. true or false in the natural numbers).

Obviously, and logically, the answer to Q could only be:

- No, it's not impossible to know, prove, cGC is true or false.

- Yes, it's impossible to know, prove, cGC is true or false.

The intention, the proposed answer to Q, here is the 2nd choice of answer:

- Yes, it's impossible to know (to model theoretically verify or prove) cGC is true or false in the natural numbers. Hence, ditto for its negation neg(cGC).

There are some rational for this Yes-choice (the Impossible-choice), based on the notion that the set N, as the standard model for the language of arithmetic, can only be incompletely constructed, as we perceive the natural numbers collectively as N.

However, the consequence for the Yes-choice answer is that the concept of the natural numbers then would be a relativistic concept: relative to the choice of true or false value for the formula cGC. We can freely choose the concept as one in which cGC is true, or as one in which its negation neg(cGC) is true; but in either way the canonical properties of the perceived "the natural numbers" are unchanged. Hence, a notion of relativity of mathematical truth in general has been found.

However, let's us just temporarily rest here, having introduced what Q is, to fully specify the formula cGC, in the language of arithmetic L(PA).

-----------------------------------> The definition of the formula cGC.

Please see the attached file:

http://garden.irmacs.sfu.ca/files/the_formula_cGC.txt


Bibliography



* indicates original appearance(s) of problem.

Formalization

The question above seems to ask: "Is the Goldbach conjecture independent of ___" for some formal system (Peano, ZFC, etc.). The formalized version linked to, though, has a clear answer: true. That's because Ap1p2[prime(p1) /\ prime(p2) /\ (p1+p2 < x \/ x < p1+p2)] is false, and so aGC(x) simplifies to odd(x) \/ (x < SSS0). Consequently, cGC is equivalent to "there are infinitely many nonnegative integers that are either odd or less than 3" which is of course true. But even if the right side of aGC was fixed cGC would still be trivially true for the same reason.

Fixing it?

Probably aGC should read something like "even(x) /\ Ap1p2[(prime(p1) /\ prime(p2)) -> (p1+p2 < x \/ x < p1+p2)]" so that cGC would mean "there are infinitely many nonnegative even numbers not the sum of two primes". Presumably this is false, but this has not yet been proven!

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