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From: ka@hou3c.UUCP (Kenneth Almquist)
Newsgroups: net.ai
Subject: Re: Fermat's Last Theorem & Undecidable Propositions
Message-ID: <278@hou3c.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 15-Feb-84 10:08:45 EST
Article-I.D.: hou3c.278
Posted: Wed Feb 15 10:08:45 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 16-Feb-84 02:43:44 EST
References: <5683@mcvax.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Labs, Holmdel, NJ
Lines: 8

Paul writes, "Suppose Fermat's Last Theorem were undecidable.  Then...".
That should really be "Suppose it has been proved that Fermat's last
theorem is undecidable," because you have to assume that the theorem
is *known* to be undecidable before you can base further arguments on
its undecidability.  In other words, isn't it posssible that no counter-
examples to Fermat's last theorem exists, but that it is impossible to
prove that none exist using the current axioms of number theory?
					Kenneth Almquist