The left distributive law is the law a· (b· c) = (a·b) · (a· c). Left distributive algebras have been classically used in the study of knots and braids, and more recently free left distributive algebras have been studied in connection with large cardinal axioms in set theory. We provide a survey of results on the free left distributive algebra on one generator, A, and a new, simplified proof of the existence of a normal form for terms in A. Topics included are: the confluence of A, the linearity...

∃κI₃(κ) is the assertion that there is an elementary embedding $i:V_{\lambda }\to V_{\lambda }$ with critical point below λ, and with λ a limit. The Wholeness Axiom, or WA, asserts that there is a nontrivial elementary embedding j: V → V; WA is formulated in the language ∈,j and has as axioms an Elementarity schema, which asserts that j is elementary; a Critical Point axiom, which asserts that there is a least ordinal moved by j; and includes every instance of the Separation schema for j-formulas. Because no instance of Replacement...

Several results are presented concerning the existence or nonexistence, for a subset S of ω₁, of a real r which works as a robust code for S with respect to a given sequence $⟨S_{\alpha }:\alpha <\omega ₁⟩$ of pairwise disjoint stationary subsets of ω₁, where “robustness” of r as a code may either mean that $S\in L[r,⟨S{*}_{\alpha }:\alpha <\omega ₁⟩]$ whenever each $S{*}_{\alpha }$ is equal to $S_{\alpha }$ modulo nonstationary changes, or may have the weaker meaning that $S\in L[r,⟨S_{\alpha }\cap C:\alpha <\omega ₁⟩]$ for every club C ⊆ ω₁. Variants of the above theme are also considered which result when the requirement that S gets exactly...

We force from large cardinals a model of ZFC in which ${\aleph }_{\omega +1}$ and ${\aleph }_{\omega +2}$ both have the tree property. We also prove that if we strengthen the large cardinal assumptions, then in the final model ${\aleph }_{\omega +2}$ even satisfies the super tree property.

Assuming the existence of a λ⁺-hypermeasurable cardinal κ, where λ is the first weakly compact cardinal above κ, we prove that, in some forcing extension, κ is still measurable, κ⁺⁺ has the tree property and $2^{\kappa }=\kappa ⁺⁺⁺$. If the assumption is strengthened to the existence of a θ -hypermeasurable cardinal (for an arbitrary cardinal θ > λ of cofinality greater than κ) then the proof can be generalized to get $2^{\kappa }=\theta$.

We show that certain relatively consistent structural properties of the class of supercompact cardinals are also relatively consistent with the Wholeness Axioms.

We show that universal indestructibility for both strong compactness and supercompactness is consistent with the existence of two strongly compact cardinals. This is in contrast to the fact that if κ is supercompact and universal indestructibility for either strong compactness or supercompactness holds, then no cardinal λ > κ is measurable.

A classical theorem of set theory is the equivalence of the weak square principle ${\square }_{\mu }*$ with the existence of a special Aronszajn tree on μ⁺. We introduce the notion of a weak square sequence on any regular uncountable cardinal, and prove that the equivalence between weak square sequences and special Aronszajn trees holds in general.

In §1, we observe that a weakly normal ideal has a saturation property; we also show that the existence of certain precipitous ideals is sufficient for the existence of weakly normal ideals. In §2, generalizing Solovay’s theorem concerning strongly compact cardinals, we show that ${\lambda }^{<\kappa }$ is decided if $P_{\kappa }\lambda$ carries a weakly normal ideal and λ is regular or cf λ ≤ κ. This is applied to solving the singular cardinal hypothesis.