Selected Papers

Calvin C. Elgot

ISBN 10: 1461381797 / ISBN 13: 9781461381792

Published by Springer, Humana Okt 2011, 2011

About this Item

This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Cal Elgot was a very serious and thoughtful researcher, who with great determi nation attempted to find basic explanations for certain mathematical phenomena as the selection of papers in this volume well illustrate. His approach was, for the most part, rather finitist and constructivist, and he was inevitably drawn to studies of the process of computation. It seems to me that his early work on decision problems relating automata and logic, starting with his thesis under Roger Lyndon and continuing with joint work with Biichi, Wright, Copi, Rutledge, Mezei, and then later with Rabin, set the stage for his attack on the theory of computation through the abstract treatment of the notion of a machine. This is also apparent in his joint work with A. Robinson reproduced here and in his joint papers with John Shepherdson. Of course in the light of subsequent work on decision problems by Biichi, Rabin, Shelah, and many, many others, the subject has been placed on a completely different plane from what it was when Elgot left the area. But I feel that his papers, results-and style-were very definitely influential at the time and may well have altered the course of the investigation of these problems. As Sammy Eilenberg explains, the next big influence on Elgot's thinking was category theory, which gave him a way of expressing his ideas in a sharply algebraic manner. The joint book with Eilenberg is one illustration of this influence. 488 pp. Englisch.

Seller Inventory # 9781461381792

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Selected Papers
• Publisher: Springer, Humana Okt 2011
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1461381797
• ISBN 13: 9781461381792
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 235W x 155H x 27D millimeters 235 millimeters width by 155 millimeters height by 27 millimeters depth
• Weight: 733 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Cal Elgot was a very serious and thoughtful researcher, who with great determi­ nation attempted to find basic explanations for certain mathematical phenomena­ as the selection of papers in this volume well illustrate. His approach was, for the most part, rather finitist and constructivist, and he was inevitably drawn to studies of the process of computation. It seems to me that his early work on decision problems relating automata and logic, starting with his thesis under Roger Lyndon and continuing with joint work with Biichi, Wright, Copi, Rutledge, Mezei, and then later with Rabin, set the stage for his attack on the theory of computation through the abstract treatment of the notion of a machine. This is also apparent in his joint work with A. Robinson reproduced here and in his joint papers with John Shepherdson. Of course in the light of subsequent work on decision problems by Biichi, Rabin, Shelah, and many, many others, the subject has been placed on a completely different plane from what it was when Elgot left the area. But I feel that his papers, results-and style-were very definitely influential at the time and may well have altered the course of the investigation of these problems. As Sammy Eilenberg explains, the next big influence on Elgot's thinking was category theory, which gave him a way of expressing his ideas in a sharply algebraic manner. The joint book with Eilenberg is one illustration of this influence.