Wolfram's axiom is in "equational logic". That means that all theorems are
of the form |- A = B, and the rules of inference are more or less:

* symmetry: If |- A = B then |- B = A
* instantiation: If |- A = B then |- A[sigma] = B[sigma] for any
substitution sigma to the variables in A and B
* substitution: If |- A = B and |- C[A] = D[A] then |- C[B] = D[B] where
C[_] and D[_] are contexts, i.e. terms with a hole in them which are filled
by A and B respectively

For example, I asked FindEquationalProof to prove |- (a|a)|(a|a) = a from
wolfram's axiom |- ((a|b)|c)|(a|((a|c)|a)) = c, and the first step was:

|- a|((a|b)|a) = b|((a|c)|(((a|c)|(a|((a|b)|a)))|(a|c)))

which is obtained from the rules above as:

1. |- ((a|b)|c)|(a|((a|c)|a)) = c   (axiom)
2. |- (((a|b)|c)|(a|((a|c)|a)))|((a|b)|(((a|b)|(a|((a|c)|a)))|(a|b))) =
a|((a|c)|a)   (instantiate a -> a|b, b -> c, c -> a|((a|c)|a) in 1)
3. |- c|((a|b)|(((a|b)|(a|((a|c)|a)))|(a|b))) = a|((a|c)|a)   (substitute 1
in 2, with pattern _|((a|b)|(((a|b)|(a|((a|c)|a)))|(a|b))) = a|((a|c)|a))
4. |- a|((a|c)|a) = c|((a|b)|(((a|b)|(a|((a|c)|a)))|(a|b)))   (symmetry 3)
5. |- a|((a|b)|a) = b|((a|c)|(((a|c)|(a|((a|b)|a)))|(a|c)))   (instantiate
a -> a, b -> c, c -> b)

(this is actually one step in wolfram's logic, which does certain
operations like symmetry and bound variable renaming in zero steps).

This is a fundamentally different kind of logic from metamath's usual FOL
style inferential system, where the proof goals are of the form |- phi and
modus ponens is traditionally the main inference rule. See ql.mm (
https://us.metamath.org/qleuni/mmtheorems1.html#ax-a1) for an example of an
equational logic implemented in metamath.




On Thu, Jun 6, 2024 at 6:34 PM [email protected] <
[email protected]> wrote:

> > he stated that his axiom has 15 symbols
>
> Upon rereading Wolfram's articles (including
> https://www.wolfram.com/language/12/algebraic-computation/the-shortest-possible-axiom-for-boolean-logic.html),
> I couldn't even confirm this (I read them several years ago).
> Claiming that one found "The Shortest Possible Axiom for Boolean Logic"
> without even stating for which rules of inference and how long the axiom is
> and by which metric seems rather chaotic and bold..
>
> But the metric I assumed is used here:
> https://www.cs.unm.edu/~mccune/papers/basax/v12.pdf
> On page 3, Wolfram's single axiom is denoted as (Sh₁), and they write:
>
> > Equation (Sh₁) is a member of a list of 25 candidates sent to us by
> Stephen Wolfram [17], who asked whether Otter could prove any of the
> candidates to be single axioms. [...]
> > In Section 4 we show that (Sh₁), *which has length 15*, is a shortest
> single axiom in terms of the Sheffer stroke, and in Section 5 we narrow the
> list of possible length-15 Sheffer axioms to 16 candidates."
>
> You could read that paper and references in order to understand what these
> systems really are.
>
>
> [email protected] schrieb am Donnerstag, 6. Juni 2024 um
> 17:32:12 UTC+2:
>
>> > This is what makes me skeptical.
>>
>>
>> And rightfully so. These kind of systems with weird rules are a thing, as
>> you can see for example at
>> https://web.ics.purdue.edu/~dulrich/Twenty-six-open-questions-page.htm
>> (where NAND is calleld "Sheffer's joint-denial operator") or
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicod%27s_axiom (which mentions a rule "Nicod's
>> modus ponens"), but rules should indeed always be stated explicitly.
>> Wolfram's article wouldn't pass peer review without modifications.
>>
>>
>> > Thierry second interpretation makes more sense to me.
>>
>>
>> But that one is definitely false since a rule with more than 0 premises
>> is not an axiom, and furthermore he stated that his axiom has 15 symbols,
>> i.e. "=" is a single operator.
>>
>> Moreover, the point was to state a single-axiom system. But given that
>> for handing both '<->' and '-/\' you most likely need multiple rules,
>> the whole approach is moot. Since when using multiple rules you do not need
>> *any* axioms for propositional logic (as we know, for example, from natural
>> deduction systems).
>>
>>
>> ------------------------------
>> *Von:* [email protected] <[email protected]> im Auftrag
>> von Gino Giotto <[email protected]>
>> *Gesendet:* Donnerstag, 6. Juni 2024 17:16:50
>> *An:* Metamath
>>
>> *Betreff:* Re: [Metamath] Re: Shortest possible axiom for propositional
>> calculus
>> >  Whichever rule(s) Stephen Wolfram's system implicitly use(s), he
>> didn't even write them down explicitly — apparently not aware that this is
>> important, but possibly hiding the actual complex definition of the system.
>>
>> This is what makes me skeptical. By reading his post, he claims that his
>> axiom is all you need, but this doesn't look right to me. Let's assume that
>> his "=" is really the same thing as the metamath  "<-> " and go forward
>> to prove all true propositional statements. Now let's say I want to prove
>> the simple tautology "|-  ( ph -/\ ( ph -/\ ph ) )", to me it's
>> immediately noticeable that this is impossible (in metamath), unless you
>> add a rule of inference or other shorter axioms (in metamath there is no
>> way to unify a goal with a statement that has more symbols than it).
>>
>> Thierry second interpretation makes more sense to me. His "=" is not
>> really the set.mm "<-> ", but rather a bidirectional version of our
>> "⇒", which is the symbol the website uses to express  the relashionship
>> between hypothesis and conclusion (e.g. ax-mp:  ⊢ 𝜑  &  ⊢ (𝜑 → 𝜓)  ⇒  ⊢
>> 𝜓). In this interpretation his system would be composed of two rules of
>> inferences and no axioms.
>> Il giorno giovedì 6 giugno 2024 alle 16:27:28 UTC+2
>> [email protected] ha scritto:
>>
>>> Corrections:
>>>
>>>
>>> "Whichever rule(s) Stephen Wolfram's systems implicitly use [...] His
>>> minimal axiom written",
>>> "|- ( ( ( ( ph -/\ ps) -/\ ch) -/\ (ph -/\ ((ph -/\ ch) -/\ ph ) ) )
>>> <-> ch )",
>>>
>>> "⊢(((φ⊼ψ)⊼χ)⊼(φ⊼((φ⊼χ)⊼φ))↔χ)"
>>> ------------------------------
>>> *Von:* [email protected] <[email protected]> im Auftrag
>>> von Discher, Samiro <[email protected]>
>>> *Gesendet:* Donnerstag, 6. Juni 2024 16:18:52
>>> *An:* Gino Giotto; [email protected]
>>> *Betreff:* AW: [Metamath] Re: Shortest possible axiom for propositional
>>> calculus
>>>
>>> I don't like NAND-based systems because they tend to have rather
>>> complicated rules of inference (which doesn't make them look fundamental,
>>> which is the whole point of single-axiom systems).
>>> Whichever rule(s) Stephen Wolfram's system implicitly use(s), he didn't
>>> even write them down explicitly — apparently not aware that this is
>>> important, but possibly hiding the actual complex definition of the system.
>>>
>>> His axiom written in Metamath's language is simply
>>>
>>> |- (((ph -/\ ps) -/\ ch) -/\ (ph -/\ ((ph -/\ ch) -/\ ph))) <-> ch
>>>
>>> in ASCII tokens (https://us.metamath.org/mpeuni/mmascii.html), or
>>>
>>> ⊢((φ⊼ψ)⊼χ)⊼(φ⊼((φ⊼χ)⊼φ))↔χ
>>>
>>> in Unicode symbols.
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
>>> *Von:* 'Thierry Arnoux' via Metamath <[email protected]>
>>> *Gesendet:* Donnerstag, 6. Juni 2024 11:42:40
>>> *An:* [email protected]; Gino Giotto
>>> *Betreff:* Re: [Metamath] Re: Shortest possible axiom for propositional
>>> calculus
>>>
>>>
>>> The `=` sign here is set.mm's biconditional `<->`and we would probably
>>> count it as a second operation, which needs to be defined, etc.
>>>
>>> But maybe could encode it into two Metamath axioms:
>>>
>>> ${
>>>     ax-1.1 $e |- ((p·q)·r)·(p·((p·r)·p))
>>>     ax-1 $a |- r
>>> $}
>>> and
>>>
>>> ${
>>>     ax-2.1 $e |- r
>>>     ax-2 $a |- ((p·q)·r)·(p·((p·r)·p))
>>> $}
>>> _
>>> Thierry
>>>
>>>
>>> On 06/06/2024 11:06, Gino Giotto wrote:
>>>
>>> > There are propositional systems with even smaller axioms, but those
>>> systems are not even based on modus ponens, e.g.:
>>> https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2018/11/logic-explainability-and-the-future-of-understanding/
>>> .
>>>
>>> So this is the linked single NAND axiom for propositional calculus by
>>> Stephen Wolfram:
>>>
>>> ((p·q)·r)·(p·((p·r)·p))=r
>>>
>>> My question is: how would this translate into Metamath? The set.mm
>>> database does not introduce the primitive "=" symbol until ax-6, so we are
>>> not allowed to use its properties at that stage. Given how Metamath works,
>>> my guess is that you'll need more than one "$a |-" statement anyway.
>>>
>>> Il Gio 6 Giu 2024, 03:32 [email protected] <
>>> [email protected]> ha scritto:
>>>
>>>> Meredith's axiom under https://us.metamath.org/mpeuni/meredith.html is
>>>> a minimal axiom (one out of seven) in the Hilbert system with operators
>>>> {→,¬} and modus ponens.
>>>>
>>>> Since 2021, assuming general correctness of Walsh's and Fitelson's
>>>> paper <http://fitelson.org/walsh.pdf> (which is still declared as
>>>> under review), it has been proven by exhaustive search that it is indeed
>>>> not only smallest-known, but minimal.
>>>>
>>>> In contrast, https://us.metamath.org/mpeuni/merco1.html is a minimal
>>>> axiom in the Hilbert system with operators { →, ⊥} and modus ponens.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Such things always depend on which operators and rule(s) of inference
>>>> are allowed. There are propositional systems with even smaller axioms, but
>>>> those systems are not even based on modus ponens, e.g.:
>>>> https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2018/11/logic-explainability-and-the-future-of-understanding/.
>>>> (Note that all systems based on modus ponens must have formulas written in
>>>> terms of →.)
>>>>
>>>> I am researching systems of minimal axioms in terms of {→,¬} with open
>>>> access at https://github.com/xamidi/pmGenerator/discussions/2 in case
>>>> you are interested — you could even contribute to the project. On the 
>>>> project's
>>>> main page <https://github.com/xamidi/pmGenerator> I also wrote a few
>>>> things about Metamath's propositional system of set.mm, which I called
>>>> "Frege's calculus simplified by Łukasiewicz" due to its origin, and I used
>>>> it as a default system for my tool.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> [email protected] schrieb am Donnerstag, 6. Juni 2024 um 02:37:03
>>>> UTC+2:
>>>>
>>>>> In the discussion below, Samiro mentioned ~ retbwax1, which got me
>>>>> looking at
>>>>> ~ meredith and friends:
>>>>>
>>>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/metamath/bc1cdba2626540ad8582917ddcec4d74%40rwth-aachen.de
>>>>>
>>>>> The comment in ~ meredith mentions that it's "thought to be the
>>>>> shortest
>>>>> possible axiom for propositional calculus", but then ~ merco1 and ~
>>>>> merco2 go
>>>>> on to show ones that appear shorter. Does the ~ meredith comment still
>>>>> apply,
>>>>> and if so how is length of an axiom defined in this game?
>>>>>
>>>> --
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>>>>
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