Paul Cohen

American mathematicianWikipedia

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Sep 1, 2026

Sep 1 · 2 Mentions

speaker_1HOST

41:23

He couldn't do it.

speaker_0HOST

41:24

Because thanks to Gödel and later the mathematician Paul Cohen, we now know it can't be proven.

speaker_0HOST

41:30

It is formally undecidable.

speaker_0HOST

41:32

Let's dive into how they proved it was unprovable, starting with Gödel.

speaker_1HOST

41:52

Therefore, you can never mathematically disprove the continuum hypothesis using ZFC.

speaker_0HOST

41:57

Okay, so maybe it's just true.

speaker_1HOST

41:59

That's what people thought until 1963 when Paul Cohen invented a staggeringly complex technique called forcing.

speaker_0HOST

42:05

Let's try to explain the mechanics of forcing.