This is a book about the 'Halting Problem', arguably the most (in)famous computer-related problem: can an algorithm decide in finite time whether an arbitrary computer program eventually stops? This seems a dull, petty question: after all, you run the program and wait till it stops. However, what if the program does not stop in a reasonable time, a week, a year, a decade? Can you infer that it will never stop? The answer is negative. Does this raise your interest? If not, consider these questions: Can mathematics be done by computers only? Can software testing be fully automatised? Can you write an anti-virus program which never needs any update? Can we make the internet perfectly secure? Your guess is correct: the answer to each question is negative. In fact, the Halting Problem is 'hidden' in many subjects, from logic (is mathematics free of contradictions?), physics (is quantum randomness perfect?), biology (can we re-program cells to immortality?), to philosophy (do humans have free will, or do our brains generate our thoughts and decisions in a deterministic way?) and theology (can God solve the Halting Problem?) - this book will visit each of them.Written in an informal and thought-provoking language, supported with suggestive illustrations and applications and almost free of arcane mathematics (formal arguments are relegated to a special part dedicated to the mathematically-oriented reader), the book will stimulate the curiosity of the reader interested in the consequences of the limits of computing and in various attempts to cope with them.
- ISBN:
- 9789811232275
- 9789811232275
-
Category:
- Artificial intelligence
- Format:
- Hardback
- Publication Date:
-
09-04-2024
- Publisher:
- World Scientific Publishing Co Pte Ltd
- Country of origin:
- Singapore
- Pages:
- 332
This title is in stock with our Australian supplier and should arrive at our Sydney warehouse within 2 - 3 weeks of you placing an order.
Once received into our warehouse we will despatch it to you with a Shipping Notification which includes online tracking.
Please check the estimated delivery times below for your region, for after your order is despatched from our warehouse:
ACT Metro: 2 working days
NSW Metro: 2 working days
NSW Rural: 2-3 working days
NSW Remote: 2-5 working days
NT Metro: 3-6 working days
NT Remote: 4-10 working days
QLD Metro: 2-4 working days
QLD Rural: 2-5 working days
QLD Remote: 2-7 working days
SA Metro: 2-5 working days
SA Rural: 3-6 working days
SA Remote: 3-7 working days
TAS Metro: 3-6 working days
TAS Rural: 3-6 working days
VIC Metro: 2-3 working days
VIC Rural: 2-4 working days
VIC Remote: 2-5 working days
WA Metro: 3-6 working days
WA Rural: 4-8 working days
WA Remote: 4-12 working days
Share This Book: