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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!qantel!ptsfa!well!rab
From: rab@well.UUCP (Bob Bickford)
Newsgroups: net.ai
Subject: Re: A halting problem
Message-ID: <479@well.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 13-Jan-86 03:38:52 EST
Article-I.D.: well.479
Posted: Mon Jan 13 03:38:52 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 14-Jan-86 05:35:34 EST
References: <2175@aecom.UUCP> <2540002@csd2.UUCP>
Organization: Whole Earth Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Lines: 25
Summary: halting problem

In article <2540002@csd2.UUCP>, dimitrov@csd2.UUCP (Isaac Dimitrovsky) writes:
> []
> > The human mind, on the other hand, given enough time an
> > practice, can find an endless loop in any procedure.
> 
> Does the following procedure contain an endless loop?
> 
> for (each possible quadruple <a,b,c,n> of natural numbers,
> 		in any systematic order)
> 	if (a**n + b**n == c**n)
> 		halt();
> 
> (Irrelevant to the original argument, but I couldn't resist :-)).
>

  No, the procedure as stated does not contain an infinite loop (unless
I don't understand the reference to 'systematic order').  It will halt
for the quadruplet n=2, a=3, b=4, c=5  as well as a large number of others.

I think you meant to specify "for n > 2".
 
	Robert Bickford     (rab@well.uucp)
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    I doubt if these are even my own opinions.
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