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The Cambridge Quintet: A Work of Scientific Speculation

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The Cambridge Quintet: A Work of Scientific SpeculationIn 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

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.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 04/23/1999
ISBN: 9780738201382
Pages: 208
Weight: 0.71lbs
Size: 9.14h x 5.94w x 0.26d
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SKU: 84816396452

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Leanne Cowles
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Not for a strong destroyer
Golden retriever destroyed this quickly but I’m starting to think he can destroy all things.
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Tough
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Nickolay
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Mooseshoes
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Quite small.
These were way smaller than I imagined based on the photos. Those were obviously ai generated photos that don’t even look like the product at times. They are pretty flimsy and I wouldn’t buy again. My dog will tear this apart in 2 min. But it’s a good size to throw around I guess or maybe for a much smaller dog that doesn’t also want to chew. 3 stars because we will get some play out of them and there’s 2. Just know what you are getting
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Grantham, US
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Very cute! My dog loves it!
You cannot beat the price of this donut dog toy and it includes two of them! I opened these up and my dog wanted to play with it right away. They are smallish, probably about the size of a regular donut. It might look a little small compared to my dog but he is 125lbs. These little donuts even have squeakers in them. Is your dog going to be able to rip these apart… yes. I never expected him to not be able to rip these up. My dog first likes to give it nib nibs and then he will eventually rip it up. You will not find a better dog toy for the price that these are selling for on Amazon. Plus it is adorable seeing your dog walking around with a donut in his mouth!
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