idea

The caution against over-reading Gödel’s theorems

Torkel Franzén, and Sokal and Bricmont (Fashionable Nonsense), point out that Gödel gets borrowed for politics and society much more than it can support. The humility argument stands on its own, and Gödel works as an image for it. The trick that “a broken system certifies itself for free” is a neat structural parallel, and I haven’t seen it made rigorously for minds or governments.

Connects to

• who said it
• what is a belief?
• Sokal, Bricmont
• Constitution

Sources

1. Franzén, T. (2005). Gödel’s Theorem: An Incomplete Guide to Its Use and Abuse. A K Peters.
2. Sokal, A., Bricmont, J. (1998). Fashionable Nonsense. Picador.