Logic at Columbia University

## Month: April, 2012

### Kehlmann’s new play about the life of Gödel

GOETHE-INSTITUT NEW YORK
English reading of Daniel Kehlmann’s new play
Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 6:00pm
Center for Jewish History
15 West 16th St. New York, NY 10011
Free

The Leo Baeck Institute and the Goethe-Institut New York are proud to present a special reading of Ghosts in Princeton, the first play by Daniel Kehlmann, in an English translation by Carol Brown Janeway. A montage of facts, fiction, and philosophy, the play follows stages in the life of the brilliant Viennese logician Kurt Gödel (1906-1978), who, by the age of only 24, had revolutionized the logic of mathematics. A deeply complex person, Gödel did not believe in the existence of time and, with age, suffered from delusions of persecution and paranoia. After being both falsely identified as a Jew in post-Anschluss Austria and at the same time declared fit for active service, Gödel, together with his wife Adele, set out on an arduous journey to Princeton to join their friend Albert Einstein at the Institute for Advanced Study.

Daniel Kehlmann is one of Germany’s most critically acclaimed young authors. His 2006 international best-seller Measuring the World (Die Vermessung der Welt) has been translated from the original German into more than 20 languages and awarded some of the most prestigious prizes in literature.

The author himself will introduce the reading, which will be followed by a brief Q&A and refreshments. The event is free of charge, but reservations are strongly encouraged as seating is limited. To reserve a seat, please call +1 (212) 744-6400 or send an email to Maryann Legaspi at mlegaspi@lbi.cjh.org.

Leo Baeck Institute and Goethe-Institut New York are extremely grateful to Deutsche Telekom for its support of this program. Special thanks also to H.E. Mr. Peter Wittig and Mrs. Huberta von Voss-Wittig.

Arancha San Ginés provides the info above.

### Formal Philosophy Reading Group #12

The next meeting of the formal philosophy reading group will take place on Monday (April 30) 7:10 – 9:00 PM in room 720 Philosophy Hall, Columbia University. Prof. Gaifman will continue his presentation on objective probabilities and conditionalization.

Light refreshments will be served. Hope to see you all there!

### Gupta: Experience and Judgment

COLUMBIA PHILOSOPHY COLLOQUIUM
Experience and Judgment
Anil Gupta (University of Pittsburgh)
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012, 4:10 – 6:00 PM
716 Philosophy Hall, Columbia University

Reception to follow

### Formal Philosophy Reading Group #11

The next meeting of the formal philosophy reading group will take place on Monday (April 23) 7:10 – 9:00 PM in room 720 Philosophy Hall, Columbia University. Prof. Gaifman will present his view on the role of objective probabilities played in the phenomenon of dilation.

Light refreshments will be served. Hope to see you all there!

### Baldwin: Axiomatic Set Theory and L_{omega_1,omega}

CUNY MODEL THEORY SEMINAR
Axiomatic Set Theory and $L_{\omega_1,\omega}$
John T. Baldwin (Mathematics, UIC)
Friday, April 20, 2012, 12:30 PM
Abstract. In the late 1960’s model theory and axiomatic set theory seemed to be inevitably intertwined. The fundamental notions of first order stability theory are absolute. We describe the role of this fact in the development of first order model theory independent from set theory since the 1970’s. The role of extensions of ZFC in infinitary logic is muddled. Important results are proved using weak extensions of ZFC; the use is not in general proved essential. We expound the following proof-scheme: (1) Prove an infinitary sentence is consistent with ZFC. (2) Prove there is a model of set theory for which this sentence is absolute. (3) Deduce the property it expresses is provable in ZFC. We will describe how this technique implies the following recent result: Theorem (Shelah) Let $\phi$ be a sentence of $L_{\omega_1, \omega}$. (a) If ‘algebraic closure’ fails exchange on models of phi then $\phi$ has many models in $\aleph_1$. (b) If $\phi$ is pseudo-minimal then it has model in the continuum. Here algebraic closure’ and pseudo-minimal’ are modifications of classical notions appropriate for the context.