The Cambridge Quintet: A Work Of Scientific Speculation - Hardcover

9780201328288: The Cambridge Quintet: A Work Of Scientific Speculation
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
In this narrative tour de force, gifted scientist and author John L. Casti contemplates an imaginary evening of intellectual inquiry a sort of My Dinner with” not Andre, but five of the most brilliant thinkers of the twentieth century.Imagine, if you will, one stormy summer evening in 1949, as novelist and scientist C. P. Snow, Britain's distinguished wartime science advisor and author of The Two Cultures, invites four singular guests to a sumptuous seven-course dinner at his alma mater, Christ's College, Cambridge, to discuss one of the emerging scientific issues of the day: Can we build a machine that could duplicate human cognitive processes? The distinguished guest list for Snow's dinner consists of physicist Erwin Schrodinger, inventor of wave mechanics; Ludwig Wittgenstein, the famous twentieth-century philosopher of language, who posited two completely contradictory theories of human thought in his lifetime; population geneticist/science popularizer J.B.S. Haldane; and Alan Turing, the mathematician/codebreaker who formulated the computing scheme that foreshadowed the logical structure of all modern computers. Capturing not only their unique personalities but also their particular stands on this fascinating issue, Casti dramatically shows what each of these great men might have argued about artificial intelligence, had they actually gathered for dinner that midsummer evening.With Snow acting as referee, a lively intellectual debate unfolds. Philosopher Wittgenstein argues that in order to become conscious, a machine would have to have life experiences similar to those of human beings such as pain, joy, grief, or pleasure. Biologist Haldane offers the idea that mind is a separate entity from matter, so that regardless of how sophisticated the machine, only flesh can bond with that mysterious force called intelligence. Both physicist Schrodinger and, of course, computer pioneer Turing maintain that it is not the substance, but rather the organization of that substance, that makes a mind conscious.With great verve and skill, Casti recreates a unique and thrilling moment of time in the grand history of scientific ideas. Even readers who have already formed an opinion on artificial intelligence will be forced to reopen their minds on the subject upon reading this absorbing narrative. After almost four decades, the solutions to the epic scientific and philosophical problems posed over this meal in C. P. Snow's old rooms at Christ's College remains tantalizingly just out of reach, making this adventure into scientific speculation as valid today as it was in 1949.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
Santa Fe Institute mathematician John Casti calls The Cambridge Quintet "scientific fiction," a work whose goal "is to present a lively and comprehensible exposition of the intellectual and emotional uncertainties involved in shaping the future of human knowledge." Casti sets the way-back machine for 1949, and imagines that C.P. Snow (pundit, civil servant, and physicist) hosts a dinner party in his rooms at Cambridge University to discuss the possibility that a machine could be made to think. The guests: philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, mathematician and computer demigod Alan Turing, physicist Erwin Schrödinger, and geneticist J.B.S. Haldane. Not surprisingly, the party comes to no single conclusion, but Casti's format provides a comprehensible, entertaining introduction to an important question, and to the ideas and personalities of some of the 20th century's most influential (and eccentric) thinkers.
About the Author:
John L. Casti, a member of the faculty of both the Santa Fe Institute and the Technical Unviersity of Vienna, has written numerous acclaimed popular scinece books, including Would-be Worlds, Five Golden Rules , and The Cambridge Quintet .

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherHelix Books/Addison Wesley
  • Publication date1998
  • ISBN 10 0201328283
  • ISBN 13 9780201328288
  • BindingHardcover
  • Edition number1
  • Number of pages208
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780738201382: The Cambridge Quintet: A Work Of Scientific Speculation (Helix Books)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780738201382
Publisher: Basic Books, 1999
Softcover

  • 9780349108537: The Cambridge Quintet: A Work of Scientific Speculation

    Abacus, 1998
    Softcover

  • 9780316642811: The Cambridge Quintet: A Science Fiction

    Time W..., 1998
    Hardcover

  • 9780316882460: The Cambridge Quintet: A Work of Scientific Speculation

    Abacus, 1996
    Hardcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Casti, John L.
Published by Helix Books/Addison Wesley (1998)
ISBN 10: 0201328283 ISBN 13: 9780201328288
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Books Unplugged
(Amherst, NY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0201328283xvz189zvxnew

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 26.83
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Casti, John L.
Published by Helix Books/Addison Wesley (1998)
ISBN 10: 0201328283 ISBN 13: 9780201328288
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Book Deals
(Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0201328283-new

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 26.83
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Casti, John L.
Published by Helix Books/Addison Wesley (1998)
ISBN 10: 0201328283 ISBN 13: 9780201328288
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0201328283

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 22.84
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Casti, John L.; Casti, J. L.
Published by Perseus Books, New York, NY (1998)
ISBN 10: 0201328283 ISBN 13: 9780201328288
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
a2zbooks
(Burgin, KY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. New. In very good dj. Minimal shelf wear to dj. Very nice book. Quantity Available: 1. ISBN: 0201328283. ISBN/EAN: 9780201328288. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: ABE532774543. Seller Inventory # ABE532774543

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 20.50
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 6.65
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Casti, John L.
Published by Helix Books/Addison Wesley (1998)
ISBN 10: 0201328283 ISBN 13: 9780201328288
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0201328283

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 27.32
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Casti, John L.
Published by Helix Books/Addison Wesley (1998)
ISBN 10: 0201328283 ISBN 13: 9780201328288
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think0201328283

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 27.92
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Casti, John L.
Published by Perseus Books New York, NY, (1998)
ISBN 10: 0201328283 ISBN 13: 9780201328288
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0201328283

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 30.05
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Casti, John L.
Published by Helix Books/Addison Wesley (1998)
ISBN 10: 0201328283 ISBN 13: 9780201328288
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.55. Seller Inventory # Q-0201328283

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 58.07
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.13
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds