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The discrete charm of the machine : = why the world became digital /

Record Type:	Language materials, printed : Monograph/item
Title/Author:	The discrete charm of the machine :/ Ken Steiglitz.
Reminder of title:	why the world became digital /
Author:	Steiglitz, Kenneth,
Description:	1 online resource (255 p.)
Subject:	Digital communications. -
Online resource:	https://portal.igpublish.com/iglibrary/search/PUPB0006877.html
ISBN:	0691184178

The discrete charm of the machine : = why the world became digital /
Steiglitz, Kenneth,1939-

The discrete charm of the machine :why the world became digital /Ken Steiglitz. - 1 online resource (255 p.)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

The discrete charm of the machine : why the world became digital -- Contents -- To the Reader -- Part I: A Century of Valves -- 1. The Discrete Revolution -- 2. What’s Wrong with Analog? -- 3. Signal Standardization -- 4. Consequential Physics -- 5. Your Computer Is a Photograph -- Part II: Sound and Pictures -- 6. Music from Bits -- 7. Communication in a Noisy World -- Part III: Computation -- 8. Analog Computers -- 9. Turing’s Machine -- 10. Intrinsic Difficulty -- 11. Searching for Magic -- Part IV: Today and Tomorrow -- 12. The Internet, Then the Robots -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.

A few short decades ago, we were informed by the smooth signals of analog television and radio we communicated using our analog telephones and we 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 Charles Babbage’s logical branching 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.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

ISBN: 0691184178Subjects--Topical Terms:

562978
Digital communications.
Index Terms--Genre/Form:

554714
Electronic books.

LC Class. No.: TK5103.7

Dewey Class. No.: 303.48/33

The discrete charm of the machine : = why the world became digital /
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505 0 $a The discrete charm of the machine : why the world became digital -- Contents -- To the Reader -- Part I: A Century of Valves -- 1. The Discrete Revolution -- 2. What’s Wrong with Analog? -- 3. Signal Standardization -- 4. Consequential Physics -- 5. Your Computer Is a Photograph -- Part II: Sound and Pictures -- 6. Music from Bits -- 7. Communication in a Noisy World -- Part III: Computation -- 8. Analog Computers -- 9. Turing’s Machine -- 10. Intrinsic Difficulty -- 11. Searching for Magic -- Part IV: Today and Tomorrow -- 12. The Internet, Then the Robots -- Epilogue -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.
520 $a A few short decades ago, we were informed by the smooth signals of analog television and radio we communicated using our analog telephones and we 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 Charles Babbage’s logical branching 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.
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650 0 $a Digital communications. $3 562978
650 0 $a Technological innovations. $3 564143
655 4 $a Electronic books. $2 local $3 554714
856 4 0 $u https://portal.igpublish.com/iglibrary/search/PUPB0006877.html