Why “Computability” is being discussed
The most recent Hacker News stories and comments contributing to this topic's mentions.
You opened with the claim that nonstandard analysis hasn't caught on because it's "mostly the exact same arguments wrapped in slightly different language". I pointed out that th…
by saithound · Sep 19, 2026
Well, I only know how to define computability in terms of Turing machines. For math I don't have a fix definition, but it's surely a bit more specific than that (e.g. I wouldn't…
by gf000 · Sep 18, 2026
> Computation and computability is "the final frontier". Math is a "subset" of that. In what sense? BB(n) is a prime example of an object that can be mathematically defined, yet…
by streetfighter64 · Sep 18, 2026
> Computation and computability is "the final frontier". Math is a "subset" of that. Maybe I'm misunderstanding you point, but I don't know how widely this would be held as true…
by magicalist · Sep 18, 2026
Yeah i think empirically you've hit the nail on the head (and there are some ties here to computability theory, e.g. Rice's thm). sometimes the specification is easier to write…
by sidharthkmenon · Sep 18, 2026
> Math is beyond computation. We are talking about the same thing, but I would actually put this the other way around. Computation and computability is "the final frontier". Mat…
by gf000 · Sep 18, 2026
Interest
Proportion of Hacker News items mentioning "computability" over time.
Mentions
Total number of Hacker News items mentioning "computability" over time.
Computability is the ability to solve a problem by an effective procedure. It is a key topic of the field of computability theory within mathematical logic and the theory of computation within computer science. The computability of a problem is closely linked to the existence of an algorithm to solve the problem. Read more on Wikipedia