Undecidable Problem: Moving Left 3 Times in a Row
Proving that determining if a Turing Machine moves left three times consecutively is undecidable, unlike checking if it does so at all.

Easy Theory
2.6K views โข Aug 9, 2021

About this video
Here we show that the problem of determining whether an arbitrary Turing Machine moves left three times in a row is undecidable, but checking if such a machine moves left *at all* IS decidable! There is a very fine line between decidable and undecidable here. The trick with the decidable part is to run the machine "long enough" before you know that it will never move left; and for the undecidable part, encoding each transition to always interject a Right move and then a Left move, and force 3 lefts in a row at the end. (Update: it IS decidable to check if the Turing Machine moves left TWICE in a row; try to prove why this is.)
Timeline:
0:00 - Intro
1:45 - Moving Left At Least Once is Decidable
5:06 - Moving Left 3 Times in a Row is Undecidable
Easy Theory Website: https://www.easytheory.org
Discord: https://discord.gg/SD4U3hs
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โถSEND ME THEORY QUESTIONSโ
ryan.e.dougherty@icloud.com
โถABOUT MEโ
I am a professor of Computer Science, and am passionate about CS theory. I have taught many courses at several different universities, including several sections of undergraduate and graduate theory-level classes.
Timeline:
0:00 - Intro
1:45 - Moving Left At Least Once is Decidable
5:06 - Moving Left 3 Times in a Row is Undecidable
Easy Theory Website: https://www.easytheory.org
Discord: https://discord.gg/SD4U3hs
If you like this content, please consider subscribing to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3VY6RTXegnoSD_q446oBdg?sub_confirmation=1
โถSEND ME THEORY QUESTIONSโ
ryan.e.dougherty@icloud.com
โถABOUT MEโ
I am a professor of Computer Science, and am passionate about CS theory. I have taught many courses at several different universities, including several sections of undergraduate and graduate theory-level classes.
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Video Information
Views
2.6K
Likes
46
Duration
13:26
Published
Aug 9, 2021
User Reviews
4.5
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