The Universal Computer: The Road from Leibniz to Turing | 
 enlarge | Author: Martin Davis
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 117894
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.8 x 1
ISBN: 0393047857
Dewey Decimal Number: 004.09
EAN: 9780393047851
ASIN: 0393047857
Publication Date: October 2000
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Amazon.com Review
Computers rely on such things as semiconductors, memory chips, and electricity. But they also rely on a hard-won body of scientific knowledge that has enabled the now-ubiquitous devices to perform complex calculations, multitask, and even play a game of solitaire. Martin Davis, a fluent interpreter of mathematics and philosophy, locates the source of this knowledge in the work of the remarkable German thinker G. W. Leibniz, who, among other accomplishments, was a distinguished jurist, mining engineer, and diplomat but found time to invent a contraption called the "Leibniz wheel," a sort of calculator that could carry out the four basic operations of arithmetic. Leibniz subsequently developed a method of calculation called the calculus raciocinator, an innovation his successor George Boole extended by, in Davis's words, "turning logic into algebra." (Boole emerges as a deeply sympathetic character in Davis's pages, rather than as the dry-as-dust figure of other histories. He explained, Davis reports, that he had turned to mathematics because he had so little money as a student to buy books, and mathematics books provided more value for the money because they took so long to work through.) Davis traces the development of this logic, essential to the advent of "thinking machines," through the workshops and studies of such thinkers as Georg Cantor, Kurt Goedel, and Alan Turing, each of whom puzzled out just a little bit more of the workings of the world--and who, in the bargain, made the present possible. --Gregory McNamee
Product Description
One of the world's pioneers in the development of computer science offers a mesmerizing history of computers. 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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 formidable marble-eye stare June 7, 2006
A very fun read chalk full of and lively interesting personal and biographical information on some of the greatest logicians and mathematicians to have ever lived (e.g. Godel, Hilbert, Boole).
If you're interested in the history of computation theory (computational logic) and even mathematical logic more generally, this book is highly recommended. Davis himself was part of that history by making contributions, e.g., to the Entscheidungsproblem (decision problem).
At the same time, he does not skimp on technical details and explanations, though some of the more technical are often relegated to lengthy endnotes, and so most of these are easily skipped, if desired, without loss of continuity.
A fun read!
 A Fun Read. September 20, 2003
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
An entertaining book that will be enjoyed by anyone interested in mathematical logic or computation theory. Davis weaves history, anecdote, and mathematics into an exciting sketch of the major developments in mathematical logic and their role in the development of the computer. He does a commendable job in explaining the mathematics in an accessible fashion, without distorting it by over-simplification. A good book for people new to the field as well as those already familiar with these stories.
An Excellent Overview July 2, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I thought that this book was an excellent overview of the development of logical thought and it's relevance to the modern computer. Davis does a superior job of energizing a subject that is admittedly a little dull. I found myself rereading several of the sections to try to better understand some of the math involved, but overall, I think Davis found a nice balance between the complexity of the math and the history of logic. My one serious criticism of the book is that I found the chronology to be tough to follow, and I often found myself referring back to previous chapters to try and get a better sense of when events were happening. It is natural to assume that a book like this is presented in chronological fashion. The Universal Computer generally is presented that way, but there are some events that happen more or less simultaneously. This is important to the overview of the history of the field. I think the book could actually use a graphical timeline with the birth dates of the mathematicians and the significant events (i.e. 1902 - Russell's letter to Frege, etc.) that are involved. Other than that, the book is informative and enjoyable for those interested in the origins of the modern computer.
A history of the underlying mathematical concepts June 12, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
As a recent college graduate, who earned a B.S. in computer science, I thought this book provided some good background information on the people who worked to discover the underlying principles of automated mathematics implemented in a machine. The book was, for the most part, not terribly difficult to follow and gave more insight on the actual history of the individual people and times than I thought it might. Nevertheless, the individual histories, and time context put the points being made into a better framework. Not a long book, I recommend this to the more intellectual type, rather than an occasional reader.
The best popular history of the computer as logic engine March 19, 2003
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
While most of us consider computers to be some special silicon in a white box, they are in fact machines that execute rules in applied logic. For this reason, the history of computing has two tracks. The first is the hardware track, which generally starts with Charles Babbage and progresses through the recent advances in integrated circuits. One chapter of the book traces the historical development of computer hardware, starting with the Jacquard loom and moving up to the modern personal computer. The second is the history of logic that can be mechanically applied, which is the primary focus of this book.
Once again, the mathematics largely predates the applications. It is amazing how mathematicians develop mathematical structures that initially have no applications and then after some time, something appears that requires that form of mathematics. To me, it is nothing sort of amazing that Alan Turing invented an abstract universal computer long before any of the physical counterparts existed. No one has ever been able to substantially improve on his Turing machines and it is widely believed that they cannot be improved. This theme permeates the book and Davis does a very good job in presenting all of the advances in a historical context.
The contributions of Leibniz, Boole, Frege, Cantor, Hilbert, Godel and Turing are all described in detail, and it is clear how one person's work was built using that done by their predecessors. Other people noted include Bertrand Russell, Leopold Kronecker, and Albert Einstein.
This is the best popular history of the development of the computer viewed as a logic engine. I strongly recommend it as a book for courses in the history of mathematics and computing.
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