The justification of mathematical statements.
The uncompromising ethos of pure mathematics in the early post-war period was that any theorem should be provided with a proof which the reader could and should check. Two things have made this no longer realistic: (i) the appearance of increasingly long and complicated proofs and (ii) the involvement of computers. This paper discusses what compromises the mathematical community needs to make as a result.
Swinnerton-Dyer
Peter
P
University of Cambridge Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 OWB, UK. h.p.f.swinnerton-dyer@dpmms.cam.ac.uk
D000465:Algorithms; D003469:Culture; D016015:Logistic Models; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D009716:Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; D012984:Software; D012986:Software Validation