Free Ebook Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel
Locating the ideal Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel book as the best necessity is sort of good lucks to have. To begin your day or to finish your day in the evening, this Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel will certainly be proper sufficient. You can merely search for the tile right here and also you will get the book Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel referred. It will certainly not bother you to cut your useful time to go for purchasing publication in store. This way, you will additionally spend money to spend for transportation and various other time invested.
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel
Free Ebook Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel. Give us 5 minutes as well as we will reveal you the best book to review today. This is it, the Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel that will be your finest option for far better reading book. Your five times will certainly not spend lost by reading this internet site. You can take guide as a source to make far better concept. Referring the books Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel that can be positioned with your needs is at some point hard. Yet right here, this is so very easy. You can discover the very best thing of book Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel that you can check out.
Why ought to be this book Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel to read? You will certainly never obtain the understanding and experience without managing on your own there or trying on your own to do it. Thus, reading this e-book Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel is needed. You can be great and correct enough to obtain exactly how crucial is reading this Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel Even you always check out by commitment, you could assist yourself to have reading book routine. It will be so valuable as well as fun after that.
But, how is the way to get this book Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel Still perplexed? It does not matter. You could enjoy reading this publication Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel by online or soft file. Merely download and install guide Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel in the link supplied to see. You will certainly obtain this Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel by online. After downloading and install, you could save the soft data in your computer system or gadget. So, it will reduce you to review this e-book Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel in certain time or location. It might be not exactly sure to take pleasure in reviewing this e-book Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel, since you have bunches of task. But, with this soft data, you can appreciate checking out in the extra time also in the gaps of your works in office.
Again, checking out habit will certainly constantly provide valuable perks for you. You might not have to spend many times to review the book Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel Simply adjusted aside numerous times in our extra or cost-free times while having dish or in your office to review. This Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel will certainly reveal you brand-new point that you could do now. It will certainly aid you to improve the top quality of your life. Occasion it is merely a fun book Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), By David Harel, you can be healthier and a lot more enjoyable to enjoy reading.
The computer has been hailed as the greatest innovation of the 20th century, and there is no denying that these technological marvels have dramatically changed our everyday lives. They can fly airplanes and spaceships, route millions of phone calls simultaneously, and play chess with the world's greatest players. But how limitless is the future for the computer? Will computers one day be truly intelligent, make medical diagnoses, run companies, compose music, and fall in love?
In Computers Ltd., David Harel, the best-selling author of Algorithmics, illuminates one of the most fundamental yet under-reported facets of computers--their inherent limitations. Looking only at the bad news that is proven, discussing limitations that no amounts of hardware, software, talent, or resources can overcome, the book presents a disturbing and provocative view of computing at the start of the 21st century. Harel takes us on a fascinating tour that touches on everything from tiling problems and monkey puzzles to Monte Carlo algorithms and quantum computing, showing just how far from perfect computers are, while shattering some of the many claims made for these machines. He concludes that though we may strive for bigger and better things in computing, we need to be realistic: computers are not omnipotent--far from it. Their limits are real and here to stay.
Based on hard facts, mathematically proven and indisputable, Computers Ltd. offers a vividly written and often amusing look at the shape of the future.
- Sales Rank: #708300 in Books
- Published on: 2003-12-11
- Released on: 2003-09-25
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 5.00" h x .90" w x 7.70" l, .40 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 240 pages
Review
`Computers Ltd is a gripping book' Cern Courier
`a clear and friendly book' The Guardian
`Review from previous edition This book is a veritable tour de force. Harel writes with uncommon verve, clarity, and imagination . . . This is science writing at its best.' Times Higher Education Supplement
`This is the book I would most like to have written.' Prof. Darrell Ince, Open University
`Thank heavens . . . for David Harel's book on the theoretical limitations of computers . . . the insights Computers Ltd. provides are of an unusually enduring and worthwhile nature.' The Economist, 30 Sept. 2000
`The best short introduction to the things that computers can, can't, might, and could, eventually, do.' John D. Barrow, Professor of Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge University, and author of 'Impossibility' and the forthcoming 'Book of Nothing'
`An enlightening and entertaining explanation, written by a profound computer scientist and master expositor. A must read for inquisitive minds.' Michael Rabin, Professor of Computer Science, Harvard University
About the Author
David Harel is William Sussman Professor of Mathematics at The Weizmann Institute of Science, in Israel. One of the world's leading computer scientists, he is the author of the critically acclaimed Algorithmics, which has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide.
Most helpful customer reviews
35 of 36 people found the following review helpful.
A limited introduction to the limits of Computation
By Optimistix
This another nice book from David Harel, the author of the delightful
'Algorithmics : the spirit of Computer Science', which introduces the
general reader to the limits of computation (and hence the limits of
what computers can do).
Harel, who's a renowned figure in the field of Theoretical Computer Science,
has the ability to write and explain in a way that makes things seem
wonderfully clear, and indeed it is only such authors who can write good
books for the general reader.
This small (240 pages) book is quite ambitious in its coverage of topics -
starting off with the notion of an algorithm, it goes on to discuss
Efficiency and correctness, Turing machines, Finite state machines,
Decidability, Computability, Complexity, NP-completeness, Recursion,
Parallel algorithms, Probabilistic algorithms, and even touches upon
Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence !!
All this is done with almost no mathematics, at least hardly any beyond
high-school level. The reader is gently introduced to some of the most
celebrated problems of Computer Science, and he/she can get a feel of
the nature of this exciting and interesting field.
Throughout the book, the author keeps underscoring the fact that no matter
how far technology progresses, there'll always be problems that we can't
solve cheaply, or can't solve at all, or can't ever know whether they
can be solved or not (!!), ie he stresses that there are problems that
are 'beyond computers', which cannot be tamed by more and more processing
power or any other technological advancements.
This book covers pretty much the same range of topics as Harel's earlier
book, 'Algorithmics : the spirit of Computer Science', but in only half
the number of pages, and with a heavy emphasis on the 'limitations' of
computers, which actually are limitations of our knowledge rather than
of the machines themselves.
How does it compare with the eariler book ? Well, it's more uptodate,
since it was published in 2000, whereas the other one was in 1992 -
so here you find buzzwords like 'Java', 'Dotcom', 'Quantum Computing',
etc, which you wouldn't find in the earlier book, but on the whole
i prefer the earlier one, since it had a little more detail, made you
think a little more, and even had exercises for those who were interested
in probing further.
So all in all, if you want a light, breezy introduction to the basic ideas
of Theoretical Computer Science which doesn't demand too much concentration,
this is a good choice, but if you're willing to put in some time & effort
& enjoy puzzles & logical thinking, then you'll find Harel's other book,
'Algorithmics : the spirit of Computer Science' much more rewarding.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
Easy introduction
By William Rockwell
The is a good introductory book into the limits of computation. The book introduces the major concepts and vocabulary in a very easy to understand way. However that is the limit to this book on limits. If you are looking for non-technical information, then this may well be the book for you.
If you are looking for proofs, answers to your homwork problems, or rigor, you will be disappointed. The author states many conjectures few have proofs. From the conjectures he uses easily understood arguments to make his points. The conjectors are in fact true, but you will have to look elsewhere to find proofs.
The reasons I gave 4 stars instead of 5 are twofold. Although the book is pretty good, the writing seems a bit quirky at times. I would have liked to have seen a bit more rigor. Although I can understand wanting the book to be as simple as possible, but many of the proofs are not very difficult and could have been included (for example the halting problem).
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Not all problems are soluble via computation
By Wikileaker
The January 1990 AT&T telephone network crash and the June 1996 inflight explosion of an Ariane 5 rocket were caused by software failures. These two citations by Harel are two examples of incorrect computer programming that should have been avoidable. With our industrial economy relying to an ever-greater extent on computers for essential functions, the importance of software reliability stands in stark relief.
Harel's third example, that of a 107 year old woman who was mailed registration paperwork for first grade, highlights that even our system of social organization is being dependent on competently run computer networks. Now, this may not be so dramatic as network or rocket crashes, but multiplied by our burgeoning population, it illustrates the fiscal nibbling that computer errors exact on our public budgets.
Thus Harel, having established the stakes (not at the outset, unfortunately, but near the end of Chapter 1), takes up the technical issues having to do with correctness of computation. The book begins with a discussion of the algorithm: the program, inputs, instances, programming languages, and termination. Then in the next chapters he goes on to problems that, even theoretically, defy solution by any means. He describes the Church-Turing Thesis having to do with "effective computability", and the Halting Problem and Rice's Theorem, "No algorithm can decide any nontrivial property of computations.
Even the problems that are solvable in theory just take too much time or machine resources to be economically worthwhile. These are the subject of Ch. 3. Chapter 4 has to do with NP-complete problems: decidable but not known to be tractable (worthwhile). In other words, you know that you can know, but you don't know!
Ch. 5 takes up algorithmic parallelism (mainly), which offers hope. Also touches on randomization, quantum computing, and molecular computing. Ch. 6 takes up cryptography, leading up to the RSA algorithm, and the zero knowledge proofs.
The last chapter takes up the notion of "artificial intelligence", the Turing test, Eliza, searching strategies, etc.
It also touches on issues not unlike those demonstrated by the recent IBM Watson project: "The difficulty is rooted in the observation that human knowledge does not consist merely of a large collection of facts. It is not only the sheer number and volume of facts that is overwhelming...but, to a much larger extent, their interrelationships and dynamics...a human's knowledge base is incredibly complex, and works in ways that are still far beyond our comprehension." Fact is, even now, after Watson, we STILL don't understand how a human knowledge base works, because Watson is not a human and does not employ human search strategies. Despite the media hype that IBM has been trying to work up on the Sunday morning news shows, Watson is still just a souped-up search engine with an English-language front end. Interesting and potentially useful, but no breakthrough.
Seems funny, or perhaps not, that this topic is taken up in the same chapter discussing the Turing test. Watson may produce results competitive with those of humans, but it works in a completely different way -- machine learning. Which means, basically, it is still a rules-based system, but it makes up new rules and modified rules as it operates. Human cognitive machinery is not rules-based. Turing says you can ignore the underlying mechanism; the only way you have to compare a human and a machine is by the results alone. It is a computer equivilant to the behaviorist perspective in psychology: all that matters is what you can see in front of you. Again, nothing new here, this has been apparent since the days of Eliza.
The book is rather theory-oriented but still educational. When Harel cited those three real-world instances I thought the text would be more practically oriented; on this score I was disappointed. But still it's a worthwhile read.
See all 5 customer reviews...
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel PDF
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel EPub
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel Doc
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel iBooks
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel rtf
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel Mobipocket
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel Kindle
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel PDF
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel PDF
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel PDF
Computers Ltd.: What They Really Can't Do (Popular Science), by David Harel PDF
