Boolean Logic
Many of our computer databases utilize boolean logic as the basis of querying the database. Boolean logic has a much older history than most computer users imagine. It is helpful to understand the background and theory behind this concept, because this theory is the foundation on which contemporary computer science and information technology
has been built.
George Boole was an English mathematician. Born in 1815, he had no formal higher education, but had a natural gift for mathematics. He studied Newton and other mathematicians from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He began submitting papers to mathematical journals and by 1844 was awarded a medal for discussing ways in which algebra and calculus could be combined and applied to several other disciplines. In 1847, Boole wrote a paper entitled "Mathematical Analysis of Logic" (Smith, 1993). His premise in this paper was the relationship of logic and mathematics; he thought logic was more properly associated with mathematics rather than philosophy.
Boole received a professorship in mathematics at Queens College in Ireland, based on his writings. In his most famous work, "An Investigation into Laws of Thought, on Which Are Founded the Mathematical Theories of Logic and Probabilities," (Smith, 1993), published in 1854, Boole wanted to separate logic from philosophy and combine it with algebra as a science unto itself (Smith, 1993).
Boole was able to analyze the mechanics of human reasoning and the result of this analysis became the principle of information retrieval, from manual and mechanical, to electronic. Boole believed that reasoning involved either the addition of different concepts to form more complex concepts or the separation of complex co...
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...to maximize my search results. I realize my uncertainty was due to my lack of training in the Boolean logic process. This has been a valuable learning experience for me.
REFERENCES
Adler, I. (1961). Thinking Machines A Layman’s Introduction to Logic, Boolean Algebra and Computers. New York: The New American Library.
Korfhage, R. (1997). Information Storage and Retrieval. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Shannon, C. (1938). A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits. American Institute of Electrical Engineers Transactions 57, 713-723.
Smith, E. (1993, June). On the shoulders of giants: from Boole to Shannon to Taube The origins and development of computerized information from the mid-19th century to the present. Information Technology and Libraries, 12, 217-226.
Tenopir, C. (1997, May). Common end user errors. Library Journal, 122, 31-32.
Mill, J. S. (2000). System of Logic Ratiocinative and Inductive. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.
Andy Clark strongly argues for the theory that computers have the potential for being intelligent beings in his work “Mindware: Meat Machines.” The support Clark uses to defend his claims states the similar comparison of humans and machines using an array of symbols to perform functions. The main argument of his work can be interpreted as follows:
In this paper I will evaluate and present A.M. Turing’s test for machine intelligence and describe how the test works. I will explain how the Turing test is a good way to answer if machines can think. I will also discuss Objection (4) the argument from Consciousness and Objection (6) Lady Lovelace’s Objection and how Turing responded to both of the objections. And lastly, I will give my opinion on about the Turing test and if the test is a good way to answer if a machine can think.
John Searle’s Chinese room argument from his work “Minds, Brains, and Programs” was a thought experiment against the premises of strong Artificial Intelligence (AI). The premises of conclude that something is of the strong AI nature if it can understand and it can explain how human understanding works. I will argue that the Chinese room argument successfully disproves the conclusion of strong AI, however, it does not provide an explanation of what understanding is which becomes problematic when creating a distinction between humans and machines.
The subject of this term paper will be about computers in the 1950’s. The divisions that will be covered are; the types of computers there were, the memory capacity of computers, the programming languages of that time, and the uses of the computers for that time. Information will be gathered from the Internet, from books, and from magazines, and from the encyclopedia.
In this essay, I describe in detail a hypothetical test contemporarily known as the Turing test along with it’s respective objective. In addition, I examine a distinguished objection to the test, and Turing’s consequential response to it.
(page 683, conclusion #4, paragraph 4, "Can computers think?" John
W. (1964). "An introduction to the history of mathematics" (5th ed.). New York, NY: The Saunders Series.
Computers are a magnificent feat of technology. They have grown from simple calculators to machines with many functions and abilities. Computers have become so common that almost every home has at least one computer, and schools find them a good source for information and education for their students (Hafner, Katie, unknown). Computers have created new careers and eliminated others and have left a huge impact on our society. The invention of the computer has greatly affected the arts, the business world, and society and history in many different areas, but to understand how great these changes are, it is necessary to take a look at the origins of the computer.
Forester, Tom. The Information Technology Revolution. Edited and introduced by Tom Forester. The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1985.
However, his greatest contribution to mathematics is considered to be logic, for without logic there would be no reasoning and therefore no true valid rules to the science of mathematics.
Leonhard was sent to school in Basel and during this time he lived with his maternal grandmother. The school was a rather poor one, and Euler learned no mathematics at all from there. However, his father’s teaching had sparked his interest in mathematics. He read mathematics books and papers on his own and took some private lessons (Leonhard Euler).
Watson, J. (2008). A history of computer operating systems (pp. 14-17). Ann Arbor, MI: Nimble Books.
The fist computer, known as the abacus, was made of wood and parallel wires on which beads were strung. Arithmetic operations were performed when the beads were moved along the wire according to “programming” rules that had to be memorized by the user (Soma, 14). The second earliest computer, invented by Blaise Pascal in 1694, was a “digital calculating machine.” Pascal designed this first known digital computer to help his father, who was a tax collector. Pascal’s computer could only add numbers, and they had to be entered by turning dials (Soma, 32). It required a manual process like its ancestor, the abacus. Automation was introduced in the early 1800’s by a mathematics professor named Charles Babbage. He created an automatic calculation machine that was steam powered and stored up to 1000 50-digit numbers. Unlike its two earliest ancestors, Babbage’s invention was able to perform various operations. It relied on cards with holes punched in them, which are called “punch cards.” These cards carried out the programming and storing operations for the machine. Unluckily, Babbage’s creation flopped due to the lack of mechanical precision and the lack of demand for the product (Soma, 46). The machine could not operate efficiently because technology was t adequate to make the machine operate efficiently Computer interest dwindled for many years, and it wasn’t until the mid-1800’s that people became interested in them once again.
Artificial Intelligence is the scientific theory to advance the scientific understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought and intelligent behavior and their embodiment in machines. This is going to hold the key in the future. It has always fa...