The Universal Turing Machine: A Half-Century Survey - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198537743 ISBN 13: 9780198537748

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 1991

Synopsis

This volume commemorates the work of Alan Turing, because it was Turing who not only introduced the most persuasive and influential concept of a machine model of effective computability but who also anticipated in his work the diversity of topics brought together here. As Newman put it in his memoir of Turing, "The central problem with which he started and to which he constantly returned is the extent and the limitations of mechanistic explanations of nature."

Turing's paper "On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungs problem" appeared in print in 1937. It contained Turing's thesis that every `effective' computation can be programmed on a Turing machine. Furthermore it contained the unsolvability of the halting problem and of the decision problem for first-order logic, and it presented the invention of the universal Turing machine. The publication of this idea is acknowledged as a landmark of the computer age.

Part I of the volume explores the historical aspect with essays on the background, on Turing's work, and on subsequent developments. Part II contains an extensive series of essays on the influence and applications of these ideas in mathematics, mathematical logic, philosophy of mathematics, computer science, artificial intelligence, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and physics.

About this title

Review

'... a fitting tribute to one of the most influential figures in mathematical logic and computer science.' Journal of Logic and Computation

'a generally well-written account of Turing's work which manages to convey the broad scope of his influence on later developments in mathematical logic, computer science, and artificial intelligence. I would recommend the book to anyone who has an interest in computability theory or mathematical logic and its applications in computer science... One of the great merits of the book is that it is relatively self-contained and the material is largely expository and consequently the book will also attract the lay reader who is interested in the development of mathematical ideas... this collection is to be welcomed as a fitting tribute to the work of one of the most influential figures in mathematical logic and computer science.'Journal of Logic andComputation

Synopsis

This volume commemorates the work of Alan Turing, because it was Turing who not only introduced the most persuasive and influential concept of a machine model of effective computability but who also anticipated in his work the diversity of topics brought together here. Turing's paper, "On Computable Numbers, With an Application to the Entscheidungs Problem", appeared in print in 1937. It contained Turing's thesis that every "effective" computation can be programmed on a Turing machine. Furthermore it contained the unsolvability of the halting problem and of the decision problem for first-order logic, and it presented the invention of the universal Turing machine. The publication of this idea is acknowledged as a landmark of the computer age. Part 1 of the volume explores the historical aspect with essays on the background, on Turing's work and on subsequent developments. Part 2 contains an extensive series of essays on the influence and applications of these ideas in mathematics, mathematical logic, philosophy of mathematics, computer science, artificial intelligence, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind and physics.

Edition details

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198537743
• ISBN 13: 9780198537748
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 676
• Editor: Herken Rolf