Gödel’s Undecidability Theorems and the Search for a Theory of Everything

Abstract

I investigate the question whether Gödel’s undecidability theorems play a crucial role in the search for a unified theory of physics. I conclude that unless the structure of space-time is fundamentally discrete we can never decide whether a given theory is the final one or not. This is relevant for both canonical quantum gravity and string theory. Slightly elaborated version of a Prize winning essay awarded by the Kurt Gödel Circle of Friends Berlin with the support of the University of Wuppertal, first published in https://kurtgoedel.de/kurt-goedel-award-2023/