Borel Determinacy Theorem - Previous Results

Previous Results

Gale and Stewart (1953) proved that if the payoff set is an open or closed subset of Aω then the Gale–Stewart game with that payoff set is always determined. Over the next twenty years, this was extended to slightly higher levels of the Borel hierarchy through ever more complicated proofs. This led to the question of whether the game must be determined whenever the payoff set is a Borel subset of Aω. It was known that, using the axiom of choice, it is possible to construct a subset of {0,1}ω that is not determined (Kechris 1995, p. 139).

Harvey Friedman (1971) proved that that any proof that all Borel subsets of Cantor space ({0,1}ω ) were determined would require repeated use of the axiom of replacement, an axiom not typically required to prove theorems about "small" objects such as Cantor space.

Read more about this topic:  Borel Determinacy Theorem

Famous quotes containing the words previous and/or results:

    I will frankly declare, that after passing a few weeks in this valley of the Marquesas, I formed a higher estimate of human nature than I had ever before entertained. But alas! since then I have been one of the crew of a man-of-war, and the pent-up wickedness of five hundred men has nearly overturned all my previous theories.
    Herman Melville (1819–1891)

    If family communication is good, parents can pick up the signs of stress in children and talk about it before it results in some crisis. If family communication is bad, not only will parents be insensitive to potential crises, but the poor communication will contribute to problems in the family.
    Donald C. Medeiros (20th century)