Path: ...!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Lawrence D'Oliveiro Newsgroups: comp.theory Subject: Re: Cantor Diagonal Proof Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:41:03 -0000 (UTC) Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 24 Message-ID: References: <7EKdnTIUz9UkpXL6nZ2dnZfqn_ednZ2d@brightview.co.uk> <4a8988895deed610068ddca65068842dbc20bf7d@i2pn2.org> <9c1620498b305f37e3f05840074d08af916377fc@i2pn2.org> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2025 02:41:04 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="2db6b81a4d73fd9d5766f02e33a0093e"; logging-data="1889490"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+OLAs620rkL2TnALZhDeq9" User-Agent: Pan/0.162 (Pokrosvk) Cancel-Lock: sha1:njclJ2GIfvpFU1/+esdiJdJZSkw= Bytes: 2875 On Tue, 8 Apr 2025 18:57:17 -0400, Richard Damon wrote: > On 4/8/25 5:02 PM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote: >> >> On Mon, 7 Apr 2025 18:24:36 -0400, Richard Damon wrote: >> >>> And that is because while every element on the list has an algorithm >>> to construct it, that list is infinite, so you can't just put them >>> *ALL* in to one finite algorithm to compute any one you need at the >>> moment. >> >> But that’s exactly how computable numbers work. > > No, *A* computable number has a finite algorithm that computes it. > Finite in having finite instructions in its algorithm and finite states > to process. > > The problem is your "master" algorithm need the algorithms of *ALL* the > computable numbers within it, which is an infinite number of algorithms, > and thus isn't itself a finite algorithm. That is the problem with the Cantor construction, not with my disproof of it. My disproof of it only needs a finite number of list elements at any point in the proof. The Cantor construction needs them all.