Entscheidungsproblem

In mathematics and computer science, the Entscheidungsproblem (pronounced [ɛntˈʃaɪ̯dʊŋspʁoˌbleːm], German for 'decision problem') is a challenge posed by David Hilbert in 1928.

(TO DO: organize, clarify, illustrate, cross-reference.)

Description

The Entscheidungsproblem asks for an algorithm that takes as input a statement of a first-order logic (possibly with a finite number of axioms beyond the usual axioms of first-order logic) and answers "Yes" or "No" according to whether the statement is universally valid, i.e., valid in every structure satisfying the axioms.

By the completeness theorem of first-order logic, a statement is universally valid if and only if it can be deduced from the axioms, so the Entscheidungsproblem can also be viewed as asking for an algorithm to decide whether a given statement is provable from the axioms using the rules of logic.

In 1936, Alonzo Church and Alan Turing published independent papers showing that a general solution to the Entscheidungsproblem is impossible, assuming that the intuitive notion of "effectively calculable" is captured by the functions computable by a Turing machine (or equivalently, by those expressible in the lambda calculus).

This assumption is now known as the Church–Turing thesis.

See also

• Algorithm
• Church, Alonzo
• Lambda calculus
• Turing, Alan
• Turing machine
• Undecidable problem

External links

• Entscheidungsproblem @ Wikipedia