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Turing's Cathedral: The Origins Of The Digital Universe (2012)

by George B. Dyson(Favorite Author)

3.49 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0307907066 (ISBN13: 9780307907066)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Pantheon

review 1: At first I tended to agree with the quickly glanced comments that it is a badly written story about an amazing epoch. As I progressed this changed. Firstly the book is loaded with gems, real life stories about real life people who changed the world as we know it. Secondly, the non-linear presentation doesn't make the read easier, but ultimately more meaningful. Especially the description of the different topics and people associated with these topics makes me understand so much better where we come from in scientific modeling and simulation. I cannot comment on the claims that the book contains many technical mistakes, I never worked in machine code. But even if that is the case, the essence of the book remains. Nice read for those interested in a fascinating time around t... morehe genesis of computing, with central roles for Von Neumann and Turing.
review 2: I listened to this on audiodisc and it was well done. However, the book has wonderful pictures and if you do listen, I recommend getting a copy of the book for the pictures.This is the story of the making of the first computers. It is the story of the ideas, the machine, the math, the physics, the engineering, the people, the politics, and the physical and social environment. There were sections of the book that were over my head, but that was okay. In a page or two there would be a beautiful discussion of one person’s view of the universe or a description of the land being acquired for the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS). I am making it sound random, but the book is beautifully crafted.I was most impressed with the people (of course). Have so many brilliant people ever assembled before? So many geniuses from Europe, especially from Hungary, came to the United States during the 1930’s and 1940’s to escape the war and ended up working on or supporting work on the atomic bomb to save the world. Dyson tells us the history of many of these amazing people. And he then puts the people, the world events, the work on the computer and on the bomb in context. The story continues well into the 1950’s and 1960’s.My favorite people were Johnny von Neumann, a true polymath, and Julian Bigelow. Von Neumann was a mathematician and physicist, but he could see the bigger picture of any project. He was also empathetic and inclusive. Under his leadership, the IAS included many different people working together. After his death (from cancer at age 54) the IAS lost its big vision. Bigelow was an engineer and I think I liked him because he reminded me of Roy. He was raised in an eccentric family that lived without electricity or running water (etc.), and he loved tinkering with things and making do – liked working on the machinery as much or more than having the machinery work. He co-authored the seminal paper on cybernetics and teleology.This is a classic book and I expect it to be read for many decades. less

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