Re: Can you find anything wrong with this solution to the Halting Problem?

From: Isaac To (iketo2_at_netscape.net)
Date: 07/16/04 

Date: 16 Jul 2004 22:21:25 +0800

>>>>> "Peter" == Peter Olcott <olcott@att.net> writes:

    Peter> All the original proof really showed was that there is a
    Peter> way to construct a solution to the Halting Problem that can
    Peter> not possibly succeed.

As I've stated in an earlier post, you didn't understand what a proof
of the halting problem tries to convince you, and as a result you
write something which is seen as very silly to everybody else. What
the proof tells you is not that there is a way to construct anything.
Instead, it tells you that no matter what machine *you* construct
(which is called "WillHalt" in the version that you were refering to),
it cannot be a correct solution to the halting problem, due to a
contradiction---if we believe that it solves the halting problem, we
will have no choice but to believe that a machine constructed from the
machine you gave to neither halt sometime nor never halt.

So in short, the original proof *never* tries to construct anything,
until you tell it a machine that you claim to it as a "correct
solution" to the halting problem. At that time the prove starts to
work and show that your claim is definitely false.

Regards,
Isaac.

Relevant Pages

  • Peter Olcotts Source of Confusion
    ... Peter Olcott is so thoroughly confused by the proof of the ... to track down exactly what the source of his confusion is. ... code for an alleged program H that solves the halting problem, ... input x, then loop forever, otherwise halt". ...
    (sci.logic)
  • Re: Alan Turings Halting Problem is incorrectly formed
    ... Peter is mixing up several things. ... Now the question (Halting problem) actually is not "Does TM M halt on ...
    (sci.logic)
  • Re: Can you find anything wrong with this solution to the Halting Problem?
    ... Peter> LoopIfHaltswill halt. ... Peter> LoopIfHalts() does not halt, this only leaves UNKNOWN, ... have any such program that can return UNKNOWN for any valid input ... the simplest solution to the halting problem "int WillHalt(string Src, ...
    (comp.theory)
  • Re: Halting Problem Final Conclusion
    ... >I am not talking about solving the halting problem. ... >There are three possible cases for the Halt Analyzer ... always returns "don't know" count as a correct solution? ...
    (sci.logic)
  • Re: Halting Problem Final Conclusion
    ... >I am not talking about solving the halting problem. ... >There are three possible cases for the Halt Analyzer ... always returns "don't know" count as a correct solution? ...
    (comp.theory)