Synopses & Reviews
Between inventing the concept of a universal computer in 1936 and breaking the German Enigma code during World War II, Alan Turing (1912-1954), the British founder of computer science and artificial intelligence, came to Princeton University to study mathematical logic. Some of the greatest logicians in the world--including Alonzo Church, Kurt Gödel, John von Neumann, and Stephen Kleene--were at Princeton in the 1930s, and they were working on ideas that would lay the groundwork for what would become known as computer science. Though less well known than his other work, Turing's 1938 Princeton PhD thesis, "Systems of Logic Based on Ordinals," which includes his notion of an oracle machine, has had a lasting influence on computer science and mathematics. This book presents a facsimile of the original typescript of the thesis along with essays by Andrew Appel and Solomon Feferman that explain its still-unfolding significance.
A work of philosophy as well as mathematics, Turing's thesis envisions a practical goal--a logical system to formalize mathematical proofs so they can be checked mechanically. If every step of a theorem could be verified mechanically, the burden on intuition would be limited to the axioms. Turing's point, as Appel writes, is that "mathematical reasoning can be done, and should be done, in mechanizable formal logic." Turing's vision of "constructive systems of logic for practical use" has become reality: in the twenty-first century, automated "formal methods" are now routine.
Presented here in its original form, this fascinating thesis is one of the key documents in the history of mathematics and computer science.
Review
"This book presents the story of Turing's work at Princeton University and includes a facsimile of his doctoral dissertation, 'Systems of Logic Based on Ordinals,' which he completed in 1936. The author includes a detailed history of Turing's work in computer science and the attempts to ground the field in formal logic."--Mathematics Teacher
Review
"Presented here in its original form, this fascinating thesis is one of the key documents in the history of mathematics and computer science."--World Book Industry
Review
"This book is not for the faint hearted, as with the great masters of painting it will insist that some thought goes into appreciating it. . . . I love the book as a book. It is a collectors item and after all what better pursuit can one have than collecting books!"--Patrick Fogarty, Mathematics Today
Synopsis
A facsimile edition of Alan Turing's influential Princeton thesis
Between inventing the concept of a universal computer in 1936 and breaking the German Enigma code during World War II, Alan Turing (1912-1954), the British founder of computer science and artificial intelligence, came to Princeton University to study mathematical logic. Some of the greatest logicians in the world--including Alonzo Church, Kurt G del, John von Neumann, and Stephen Kleene--were at Princeton in the 1930s, and they were working on ideas that would lay the groundwork for what would become known as computer science. This book presents a facsimile of the original typescript of Turing's fascinating and influential 1938 Princeton PhD thesis, one of the key documents in the history of mathematics and computer science. The book also features essays by Andrew Appel and Solomon Feferman that explain the still-unfolding significance of the ideas Turing developed at Princeton.
A work of philosophy as well as mathematics, Turing's thesis envisions a practical goal--a logical system to formalize mathematical proofs so they can be checked mechanically. If every step of a theorem could be verified mechanically, the burden on intuition would be limited to the axioms. Turing's point, as Appel writes, is that mathematical reasoning can be done, and should be done, in mechanizable formal logic. Turing's vision of constructive systems of logic for practical use has become reality: in the twenty-first century, automated formal methods are now routine.
Presented here in its original form, this fascinating thesis is one of the key documents in the history of mathematics and computer science.
Synopsis
Between inventing the concept of a universal computer in 1936 and breaking the German Enigma code during World War II, Alan Turing (1912-1954), the British founder of computer science and artificial intelligence, came to Princeton University to study mathematical logic. Some of the greatest logicians in the world--including Alonzo Church, Kurt Gödel, John von Neumann, and Stephen Kleene--were at Princeton in the 1930s, and they were working on ideas that would lay the groundwork for what would become known as computer science. This book presents a facsimile of the original typescript of Turing's fascinating and influential 1938 Princeton PhD thesis, one of the key documents in the history of mathematics and computer science. The book also features essays by Andrew Appel and Solomon Feferman that explain the still-unfolding significance of the ideas Turing developed at Princeton.
A work of philosophy as well as mathematics, Turing's thesis envisions a practical goal--a logical system to formalize mathematical proofs so they can be checked mechanically. If every step of a theorem could be verified mechanically, the burden on intuition would be limited to the axioms. Turing's point, as Appel writes, is that "mathematical reasoning can be done, and should be done, in mechanizable formal logic." Turing's vision of "constructive systems of logic for practical use" has become reality: in the twenty-first century, automated "formal methods" are now routine.
Presented here in its original form, this fascinating thesis is one of the key documents in the history of mathematics and computer science.
Synopsis
"For me, this is the most interesting of Alan Turing's writings, and it is a real delight to see a facsimile of the original typescript here. The work is packed with ideas that have turned out to be significant for all sorts of current research areas in computer science and mathematics."--Barry Cooper, University of Leeds
Synopsis
"For me, this is the most interesting of Alan Turing's writings, and it is a real delight to see a facsimile of the original typescript here. The work is packed with ideas that have turned out to be significant for all sorts of current research areas in computer science and mathematics."--Barry Cooper, University of Leeds
Synopsis
Between inventing the concept of a universal computer in 1936 and breaking the German Enigma code during World War II, Alan Turing (1912-1954), the British founder of computer science and artificial intelligence, came to Princeton University to study mathematical logic. Some of the greatest logicians in the world--including Alonzo Church, Kurt Gödel, John von Neumann, and Stephen Kleene--were at Princeton in the 1930s, and they were working on ideas that would lay the groundwork for what would become known as computer science. Though less well known than his other work, Turing's 1938 Princeton PhD thesis, "Systems of Logic Based on Ordinals," which includes his notion of an oracle machine, has had a lasting influence on computer science and mathematics. This book presents a facsimile of the original typescript of the thesis along with essays by Andrew Appel and Solomon Feferman that explain its still-unfolding significance.
A work of philosophy as well as mathematics, Turing's thesis envisions a practical goal--a logical system to formalize mathematical proofs so they can be checked mechanically. If every step of a theorem could be verified mechanically, the burden on intuition would be limited to the axioms. Turing's point, as Appel writes, is that "mathematical reasoning can be done, and should be done, in mechanizable formal logic." Turing's vision of "constructive systems of logic for practical use" has become reality: in the twenty-first century, automated "formal methods" are now routine.
Presented here in its original form, this fascinating thesis is one of the key documents in the history of mathematics and computer science.
Synopsis
"For me, this is the most interesting of Alan Turing's writings, and it is a real delight to see a facsimile of the original typescript here. The work is packed with ideas that have turned out to be significant for all sorts of current research areas in computer science and mathematics."--Barry Cooper, University of Leeds
About the Author
Andrew W. Appel is the Eugene Higgins Professor and Chairman of the Department of Computer Science at Princeton University.
Table of Contents
List of Plates ix
Foreword by Douglas Hofstadter xi
Preface to the 2012 Centenary edition xv
PART ONE: THE LOGICAL
1 Esprit de Corps to 13 February 1930 1
2 The Spirit of Truth to 14 April 1936 46
3 New Men to 3 September 1939 111
4 The Relay Race to 10 November 1942 160
BRIDGE PASSAGE to 1 April 1943 242
PART TWO: THE PHYSICAL
5 Running Up to 2 September 1945 259
6 Mercury Delayed to 2 October 1948 314
7 The Greenwood Tree to 7 February 1952 390
8 On the Beach to 7 June 1954 456
Postscript 529
Author's Note 530
Notes 541
Acknowledgements 569
Index 570