- 929
TURING, A. ON COMPUTABLE NUMBERS, 1937
Estimate
8,000 - 10,000 GBP
Log in to view results
bidding is closed
Description
- "On computable numbers, with an application to the entscheidungsproblem" [in:] Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, series 2, vol. 42, pp. 230-265, one leaf slightly torn, another missing small piece at lower margin (not affecting text); [together with:] "On computable numbers, with an application to the entscheidungsproblem. A correction" [in the same journal], series 2, vol. 43, pp. 544-546, collected with further papers by other mathematicians. C.F. Hodgson & Son, Ltd., 1937
8vo (247 x 164mm.), contemporary green cloth, a touch of spotting to fore-edge, minor wear to binding
Provenance
Colorado College Library, blind-stamp and bookplate; bought from Biblion, 1984
Literature
Tomash & Williams T61, T62; Origins of Cyberspace 394; Randell 1979 p.169
Condition
Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
THE FOUNDATION OF THE MODERN THEORY OF COMPUTATION, AND THUS THE MOST IMPORTANT TWENTIETH-CENTURY PAPER IN COMPUTER SCIENCE. This is the first appearance of Turing's seminal paper introducing the concept of a universal problem-solving machine. In it the mathematician shows how his hypothetical machine (subsequently known as the Turing machine) could replicate anything done by a human being following a set procedure or by any other mechanism.
Turing had originally conceived of his paper as a response to the last of the great German mathematician David Hilbert's three major questions concerning mathematics - is it complete as a system? Is it consistent?, and is it decidable? By 1930, when Turing was entering Cambridge, the young Czech philosopher Kurt Gödel had answered the first two questions in the negative, but the third, the decision-problem (Entscheidungsproblem) remained unanswered. To answer it required finding a process, or proving none existed, to decide if any particular mathematical statement is true or not. As it happened the American mathematician Alonzo Church had independently proved that there is no solution to the Entscheidungsproblem. Turing's similar result however, arrived at by the simple concept of a rudimentary machine, is now vastly more famous: the Turing machine can be thought of as a computer program, and the mechanical task of interpreting and obeying the program as what the computer does. "So the universal Turing machine is now seen to embody the principle of the modern computer: a single machine which can be turned to any task by an appropriate program. The universal Turing machine also exploits the fact that symbols representing instructions are no different in kind from symbols representing data - the 'stored program' concept of the digital computer. However, no such computer existed in 1936, except in Turing's imagination..." (Alan Hodges, ODNB).
The second paper contains a few corrections to Turing's earlier paper of the same title, following comments by Alonzo Church in his review.
Turing had originally conceived of his paper as a response to the last of the great German mathematician David Hilbert's three major questions concerning mathematics - is it complete as a system? Is it consistent?, and is it decidable? By 1930, when Turing was entering Cambridge, the young Czech philosopher Kurt Gödel had answered the first two questions in the negative, but the third, the decision-problem (Entscheidungsproblem) remained unanswered. To answer it required finding a process, or proving none existed, to decide if any particular mathematical statement is true or not. As it happened the American mathematician Alonzo Church had independently proved that there is no solution to the Entscheidungsproblem. Turing's similar result however, arrived at by the simple concept of a rudimentary machine, is now vastly more famous: the Turing machine can be thought of as a computer program, and the mechanical task of interpreting and obeying the program as what the computer does. "So the universal Turing machine is now seen to embody the principle of the modern computer: a single machine which can be turned to any task by an appropriate program. The universal Turing machine also exploits the fact that symbols representing instructions are no different in kind from symbols representing data - the 'stored program' concept of the digital computer. However, no such computer existed in 1936, except in Turing's imagination..." (Alan Hodges, ODNB).
The second paper contains a few corrections to Turing's earlier paper of the same title, following comments by Alonzo Church in his review.