Item type | Current location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Books | 621.382 STE (Browse shelf) | Available | 034588 |
621.382 STA Electronic communications : principles and systems | 621.382 STA Introduction to digital communications | 621.382 STE Communication systems : analysis and design | 621.382 STE The discrete charm of the machine : why the world became digital | 621.382 STR Designers Guide to Built in Self-Test | 621.382 SUN Wireless communication circuits and systems | 621.382 TAS Adaptive low-power circuits for wireless communications |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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.
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