The Universal Computer: The Road from Leibniz to Turing

Martin Davis

ISBN 10: 0393047857 / ISBN 13: 9780393047851

Edité par W. W. Norton & Company, United States, 2000

A propos de cet article

Book has light shelfwear, else clean and tight, jacket has wear at the head and heel of the spine as well as cornerwear. First edition, first printing.

N° de réf. du vendeur 001262

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: The Universal Computer: The Road from Leibniz to Turing
• Éditeur: W. W. Norton & Company, United States
• Date de parution: 2000
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 0393047857
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780393047851
• Reliure: Hardcover
• Édition: 1st Edition
• État de l'article: Very Good+
• État de la jaquette: Very Good
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Non Fiction

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

Computers are everywhere today--at work, in the bank, in artist's studios, sometimes even in our pockets--yet they remain to many of us objects of irreducible mystery. How can today's computers perform such a bewildering variety of tasks if computing is just glorified arithmetic? The answer, as Martin Davis lucidly illustrates, lies in the fact that computers are essentially engines of logic. Their hardware and software embody concepts developed over centuries by logicians such as Leibniz, Boole, and Godel, culminating in the amazing insights of Alan Turing. The Universal Computer traces the development of these concepts by exploring with captivating detail the lives and work of the geniuses who first formulated them. Readers will come away with a revelatory understanding of how and why computers work and how the algorithms within them came to be.

Présentation de l'éditeur

The breathtakingly rapid pace of change in computing makes it easy to overlook the pioneers who began it all. Written by Martin Davis, respected logician and researcher in the theory of computation, The Universal Computer: The Road from Leibniz to Turing explores the fascinating lives, ideas, and discoveries of seven remarkable mathematicians. It tells the stories of the unsung heroes of the computer age – the logicians.

The story begins with Leibniz in the 17th century and then focuses on Boole, Frege, Cantor, Hilbert, and Gödel, before turning to Turing. Turing’s analysis of algorithmic processes led to a single, all-purpose machine that could be programmed to carry out such processes―the computer. Davis describes how this incredible group, with lives as extraordinary as their accomplishments, grappled with logical reasoning and its mechanization. By investigating their achievements and failures, he shows how these pioneers paved the way for modern computing.

Bringing the material up to date, in this revised edition Davis discusses the success of the IBM Watson on Jeopardy, reorganizes the information on incompleteness, and adds information on Konrad Zuse. A distinguished prize-winning logician, Martin Davis has had a career of more than six decades devoted to the important interface between logic and computer science. His expertise, combined with his genuine love of the subject and excellent storytelling, make him the perfect person to tell this story.