| 000 -LEADER |
|---|
| fixed length control field |
nam a22 4500 |
| 008 - FIXED-LENGTH DATA ELEMENTS--GENERAL INFORMATION |
|---|
| fixed length control field |
240214b xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d |
| 020 ## - INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER |
|---|
| International Standard Book Number |
9780691229027 |
| 082 ## - DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION NUMBER |
|---|
| Classification number |
621.382 |
| Item number |
STE |
| 100 ## - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME |
|---|
| Personal name |
Steiglitz, Ken |
| 245 ## - TITLE STATEMENT |
|---|
| Title |
The discrete charm of the machine : why the world became digital |
| 260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC. (IMPRINT) |
|---|
| Name of publisher, distributor, etc |
Princeton University Press, |
| Date of publication, distribution, etc |
2019 |
| Place of publication, distribution, etc |
Princeton : |
| 300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION |
|---|
| Extent |
xvii, 235 p. ; |
| Other physical details |
ill., |
| Dimensions |
24 cm. |
| 365 ## - TRADE PRICE |
|---|
| Price amount |
20.95 |
| Price type code |
$ |
| Unit of pricing |
86.50 |
| 504 ## - BIBLIOGRAPHY, ETC. NOTE |
|---|
| Bibliography, etc |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| 520 ## - SUMMARY, ETC. |
|---|
| Summary, etc |
The genesis of the digital idea and why it transformed civilization. A few short decades ago we were informed by the smooth signals of analog television, radio, and vinyl discs; communicated with our analog telephones; and even computed with analog computers. Today our world is digital, built with zeros and ones. Why did this revolution occur? The Discrete Charm of the Machine explains, in an engaging and accessible manner, the varied physical and logical reasons behind this radical transformation. The spark of individual genius shines through this story of innovation: the stored program of Jacquard's loom; the logical branching of Charles Babbage; Alan Turing's brilliant abstraction of the discrete machine; Harry Nyquist's foundation for digital signal processing; Claude Shannon's breakthrough insights into the meaning of information and bandwidth; and Richard Feynman's prescient proposals for nanotechnology and quantum computing. Ken Steiglitz follows the progression of these ideas in the building of our digital world, from the internet and artificial intelligence to the edge of the unknown. Are questions like the famous traveling salesman problem truly beyond the reach of ordinary digital computers? Can quantum computers transcend these barriers? Does a mysterious magical power reside in the analog mechanisms of the brain? Steiglitz concludes by confronting the moral and aesthetic questions raised by the development of artificial intelligence and autonomous robots. The Discrete Charm of the Machine examines why our information technology, the lifeblood of our civilization, became digital, and challenges us to think about where its future trajectory may lead. |
| 650 ## - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM |
|---|
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element |
Internet |
|
|---|
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element |
Claude Shannon |
|
|---|
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element |
p-n junction |
|
|---|
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element |
NP-complete problems |
|
|---|
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element |
Moore’s law |
|
|---|
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element |
Church-Turing thesis |
|
|---|
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element |
Antikythera mechanism |
|
|---|
| Topical term or geographic name as entry element |
Analog computer |
| 942 ## - ADDED ENTRY ELEMENTS (KOHA) |
|---|
| Source of classification or shelving scheme |
|
| Item type |
Books |