Abstract. The HOL Light prover is based on a logical kernel consisting of about 400 lines of mostly functional OCaml, whose complete formal verification seems to be quite feasible. We would like to formally verify (i) that the abstract HOL logic is indeed correct, and (ii) that the OCaml code does correctly implement this logic. We have performed a full verification of an imperfect but quite detailed model of the basic HOL Light core, without definitional mechanisms, and this verification is entirely conducted with respect to a set-theoretic semantics within HOL Light itself. We will duly explain why the obvious logical and pragmatic difficulties do not vitiate this approach, even though it looks impossible or useless at first sight. Extension to include definitional mechanisms seems straightforward enough, and the results so far allay most of our practical worries. 1 Introduction: quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Mathematical proofs are subjected to peer review before publication, but there

It has become a classical technique to turn to theoretical computer science to provide computational tools for algebraic geometry. A more recent transformation is that now we also get logical tools, and these too should be useful in the study of algebraic varieties. The purpose of this note is to consider a very small part of this picture, and try to motivate the study of computer theorem-proving techniques by looking at how they might be relevant to a particular class of problems in algebraic geometry. This is only an informal discussion, based more on questions and possible research directions than on actual results. This note amplifies the themes discussed in my talk at the “Arithmetic and Differential Galois Groups ” conference (March 2004, Luminy), although many specific points in the discussion were only finished more recently. I would like to thank: André Hirschowitz and Marco Maggesi, for their invaluable insights about computer-formalized mathematics as it relates

Why are theorem provers not more widely used?

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