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Columnist and Mathematics

Should all mathematical proofs be checked by a computer?

Proofs, the central tenet of mathematics, occasionally have errors in them. Could computers stop this from happening, asks mathematician Emily Riehl

By Emily Riehl

5 July 2023

Computer proof assistants can verify that mathematical proofs are correct

Shutterstock/Golden Dayz

The following is an extract from our Lost in Space-Time newsletter. Each month, we hand over the keyboard to a physicist or two to tell you about fascinating ideas from their corner of the universe. You can sign up for Lost in Space-Time for free here.

One miserable morning in 2017, in the third year of my tenure-track job as a mathematics professor, I woke up to a worrying email. It was from a colleague and he questioned the …

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