Logic Machines and Diagrams

Description

Logic Machines and Diagrams

Publisher:   University Of Chicago Press
Number Of Pages:   165
Publication Date:   1983-03
Sales Rank:   1096199
ISBN / ASIN:   0226282430
EAN:   9780226282435
Binding:   Hardcover
Manufacturer:   University Of Chicago Press
Studio:   University Of Chicago Press
Average Rating:   4

Review:

From the dawn of the computer era

This is an interesting, if brief look back at historical computing mechanisms. It is interesting for two reasons. First, that it focuses exclusively on tools for logical reasoning, and not on numerical tools like a slide rule or abacus. Second, it was written at the dawn of the electronic computing era, before even one-at-a-time transistors were used, and long before the earliest integrated circuit.

It briefly describes Lull's rotating disks, a little like the child's toy that can put a lion's head on a turtle's body. Lull used dozens of variants (up to 14 disks, in one case) to explore combinations of theological and moral ideas, but not for reaching conclusions from basic premises. Gardner goes on to describe set-inclusion diagrams pioneered by Euler and popularized by Venn, Pierce's arcane "existential diagrams", and a few other pencil and paper notations. He describes a few clever tools based on different cards with windows cut into them, so that the alignment of windows in overlapping cards represents joining of logical statements. He also mentions mechanical, electrical, and relay-based gadgets, as well as one based on rotating, counter-rotating, and jammed gears.

For some reason, he chose not to mention a once-popular tool based on stacks of cards, with holes punched or notches cut in the edges. Stack the cards, slide a pin through the aligned holes representing (for example) male subjects, and shake loose all the cards with notches that don't snag the pin. Repeat the process on the male or female stack of cards, using other holes representing different traits, and the desired subset of subjects (if any) remain. Although used for filing, this tool could easily have handled dozens of logical variables, not just the four or five seen in other mechanisms.

The second facet of this book gives it a quaint feeling. Gardner ends the book with a set of predictions about the future of logic machines. He dismisses programmable computers as unwieldy and inefficient. Still, he hopes for inference engines to be sped up electronically, perhaps using analog computation. Other predictions sound equally odd - some because they did not come to pass, others (like H. G. Wells' World Brain) because they did in some way.

This book is an interesting bit of modern history, and a worthwhile collection of visual tools for representing logical concepts. If nothing else, it gives insight into how complex problems of four logical variables were once thought to be - much simpler than the computer circuits and even logic puzzles of today.

http://rapidshare.com/files/42535792/Logic_Machines_And_Diagrams.rar.html

Disclaimer:
Contents of this page are indexed from the Internet. All actions are under your responsability. Email us to report illegal contents or external links and we'll remove them immediately.

Please check the description for download links if any or do a search to find alternative books.

Can't Download?
Please search mirrors if you can't find download links for "Logic Machines and Diagrams" in "Description" and someone else may update the links. Check the comments when back to find any updates.

Search Mirrors
Maybe some mirror pages will be helpful, search this book at top of this page or click here to find more info.

1. Ebooks list page : 1103
2. Introduction to Languages, Machines, and Logic
3. Introduction to Computing: Explorations in Language, Logic, and Machines
4. Learning and Soft Computing: Support Vector Machines, Neural Networks, and Fuzzy Logic Models
5. [share_ebook] The Machines of Leonardo Da Vinci and Franz Reuleaux: Kinematics of Machines from the Renaissance to the 20th Century
6. [share_ebook] Humans, Animals, Machines: Blurring Boundaries Description: In the twenty-first century, the boundaries between both humans and machines and humans and animals are hotly contested and debated. In Humans, Animals, Machines, Glen A. Mazis exam
7. New Machines, Free New Machines Newsletter Subscription
8. New Machines, Free New Machines Newsletter Subscription
9. New Machines, Free New Machines Newsletter Subscription
10. New Machines, Free New Machines Newsletter Subscription
11. New Machines, Free New Machines Newsletter Subscription
12. Handbook of Logic in Artificial Intelligence and Logic Programming: Volume 5: Logic Programming
13. Picturing Machines 1400-1700 (Transformations: Studies in the History of Science and Technology)uring Machines 1400-1700
14. Computational Logic: Logic Programming and Beyond: Essays in Honour of Robert A. Kowalski, Part I
15. Elements of Mathematical Logic: Model Theory (Studies in Logic and the Foundations of Mathematics)
16. Handbook of Philosophical Logic: Volume 1: Elements of Classical Logic (Synthese Library)