# Rosser's trick

> English word · Proper noun

## Definitions
1. A method for proving Gödel's incompleteness theorems without the assumption that the theory being considered is ω-consistent. While Gödel's original proof uses a sentence that states (informally) "This sentence is not provable", Rosser's trick uses a formula that says "If this sentence is provable, there is a shorter proof of its negation".

## Etymology
Introduced by J. Barkley Rosser in 1936.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/rosser-s-trick