Rosser's trick

proper noun

A method for proving Gödel's incompleteness theorems without the assumption that the theory being considered is ω-consistent. While Gödel's original proof uses a sentence that states (informally) "This sentence is not provable", Rosser's trick uses a formula that says "If this sentence is provable, there is a shorter proof of its negation".

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

proper noun
  1. mathematicsA method for proving Gödel's incompleteness theorems without the assumption that the theory being considered is ω-consistent. While Gödel's original proof uses a sentence that states (informally) "This sentence is not provable", Rosser's trick uses a formula that says "If this sentence is provable, there is a shorter proof of its negation".

Origin

Introduced by J. Barkley Rosser in 1936.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Rosser's trick. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rosser's%20trick

MLA

“Rosser's trick.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rosser's%20trick. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Rosser's trick,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rosser's%20trick.

Source: Rosser's trick on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.