Given its small size and brilliant content, I would recommend Turing and the Universal Machine to anybody interested in a short history of computers and computing. It’s a rare and beautiful book on computers and computing.
Turing and the Universal Machine contains 21 small chapters (the whole book can be read in a couple of hours) that discuss the following topics:
The conception of a universal calculating (not computing!) machine by Charles Babbage and the conditions under which it became an absolute necessity for imperial and industrial Britain. Vital functions such as navigation at sea, actuary table generation for insurance companies, and industrial engineering required accurate mathematical tables to replace the erroneous hand-written ones. Babbage wanted to leverage the steam engine concept to create those tables automatically.
The implementation of the calculating (and later universal computing) machines from the technology available at that time: steam engines and mills, punch cards controlling textile machines (looms), telephone relays, and cathode ray tubes.
The tremendous impact of the Second World War in securing the funding, institutions, and talent direly needed to implement a calculating machine to break cryptographic messages. Funding subsequently continued to improve the primitive computing technology available at the time, without which it might have taken more decades for computers to make it into every home.
Turing’s work and legacy are explored in the second half of the book. It starts with Euclidean geometry and his methods of proving theorems from axioms, Hilbert’s questions on the axioms of mathematics (is mathematics consistent, complete, and decidable?), Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, and finally, the universal Turing machine.
The rapid and massive scaling of industries, which started with railroad organisations trying to prevent train accidents, signalled the dire need for hierarchical organisational structures and the ability to process vast amounts of information very quickly. This made the personal computer an indispensable tool in modern societies.
3. Structure, Tone, Depth, and Style
Turing and the Universal Machine is tiny but loaded with information and insights; hardly any paragraph can be skipped without impacting the story.
Complex topics such as Hilbert’s problem, the conceptual design of the Turing machine, and Gödel’s incompleteness theorem are lucidly explained in layman’s terms without loss of depth or accuracy.
The author, Jon Agar, used a narrative style to present his ideas, bringing the characters and events to life and making Turing and the Universal Machine a splendid and enjoyable read.
The first half of the book discusses the rise of the computing machine, while the second half focuses on Turing’s work, briefly discussing Turing’s personal life.
Professor Jon Agar is a Professor of Science and Technology Studies at University College London. He writes on contemporary technologies (computers, mobile phones, ID cards) and the history of modern science and technology.
His works include Science in the Twentieth Century and Beyond and Turing and the Universal Machine. He is also the editor of the British Journal for the History of Science.
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I’m interested in this book!
The review is coming soon; stay tuned!