Computation: Finite and Infinite Machines; Marvin Minsky; Prentice Hall 1972

Minsky, Marvin L.

ISBN 10: 0131654497 / ISBN 13: 9780131654495

Published by Prentice Hall International, 1972

About this Item

Book in good condition. Check the pictures. Safe packaging and fast shipping: 1. Books will be carefully packed using protection such as foam cushions and they will be placed in a robust box. (For small books, they will be placed in an envelop with bubble foam wrap and extra strong cardboard) 2. The shipping label will be purchased and the book will be delivered to the shipping courier access point within a day from the purchase (unless is weekend) 3. We ship from Italy. Please contact us in advance if the shipping destination is to an island or to a very remote place (For example, Cyprus, Canary islands, Madeira), we will need to check if there are shipping solutions for those destinations. There is no issue with shipping to EU countries plus Nordics, UK and North America. Tracking code, delivery and purchase guarantee: 1. The book will no take weeks to arrive, but it will arrive within a week from the parcel delivery to the shipping courier (in normal situations in EU countries) 2. You will receive the tracking code and you will be able to check the status of the delivery in every step. The book will not be stolen or get lost which is common when shipping with untraceable packages Feel free to contact us for any questions!

Seller Inventory # 116433371984

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Computation: Finite and Infinite Machines; Marvin Minsky; Prentice Hall 1972
• Publisher: Prentice Hall International
• Publication Date: 1972
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0131654497
• ISBN 13: 9780131654495
• Binding: Brossura
• Condition: buono
• Seller catalogs:
  • 29223

About this title

Synopsis

Man has within a single generation found himself sharing the world with a strange new the computers and computer-like machines. Neither history, nor philosophy, nor common sense will tell us how these machines will affect us, for they do not do "work" as did machines of the Industrial Revolution. Instead of dealing with materials or energy, we are told that they handle "control" and "information" and even "intellectual processes." There are very few individuals today who doubt that the computer and its relatives are developing rapidly in capability and complexity, and that these machines are destined to play important (though not as yet fully understood) roles in society's future. Though only some of us deal directly with computers, all of us are falling under the shadow of their ever-growing sphere of influence, and thus we all need to understand their capabilities and their limitations. It would indeed be reassuring to have a book that categorically and systematically described what all these machines can do and what they cannot do, giving sound theoretical or practical grounds for each judgment. However, although some books have purported to do this, it cannot be done for the following a) Computer-like devices are utterly unlike anything which science has ever considered---we still lack the tools necessary to fully analyze, synthesize, or even think about them; and b) The methods discovered so far are effective in certain areas, but are developing much too rapidly to allow a useful interpretation and interpolation of results. The abstract theory---as described in this book---tells us in no uncertain terms that the machines' potential range is enormous, and that its theoretical limitations are of the subtlest and most elusive sort. There is no reason to suppose machines have any limitations not shared by man.