In 1976 the computer-aided Four Color Theorem proof drove mathematicians mad — history rhymes with AI
timigod · x · 2026-10-13
Pessimists Archive revisits 1976, when Appel and Haken's computer-assisted proof of the Four Color Theorem — 1,200 hours of compute and 10 billion decisions — upended the concept of proof. Mathematicians raged: Herbert Wilf said "God wouldn't let the theorem be proved by a method as terrible as that," Paul Halmos denounced "Oracles," and George Spencer-Brown called it the ultimate "King's New Clothes." Appel and Haken conceded the system "surpassed its creators" in some tasks — a striking parallel to today's AI-mathematics debates.
Related event: 1976 Four Color Theorem Proof Offers Precedent as AI Shakes Math(2 posts)→
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