Brains, Machines, and Mathematics [Hardcover]

Michael A. Arbib (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 1987 | ISBN-10: 0387965394 | ISBN-13: 978-0387965390 | Edition: 2nd

Traces the relationship between the development of computing machines and our knowledge of brain functioning, and introduces corresponding mathematical models designed to describe this relationship. Begins with a historical overview tracing the rise of cybernetics to the current interchange of ideas between AI and brain theory. Subsequent chapters introduce neural sets and finite automata, the crucial cybernetic concepts of feedback and realization, pattern recognition networks, "semi-neural" learning networks, capabilities of Turing machines and automata which construct as well as compute. The final chapter presents two accessible proofs of Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 202 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 2nd edition (October 5, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387965394
• ISBN-13: 978-0387965390
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,348,914 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For your brains, about machines, through mathematics., April 5, 2000

By 

Carl Saab (US, Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brains, Machines, and Mathematics (Hardcover)

I had a chat with a cybernetic scientist about how the brain works while rock climbing. I am a neuroscientist. The name of Michael Arbib came up often in our climb that I decided to read his "Brains, Machines and Mathematics" as soon as I'm back to earth. This book is not readily available, hence not publicly viable. Nevertheless, I borrowed it from a public library and kept it for 3 months until I decided to buy it... Every time I go through it I climb a rock. At the end of the book, I found myself back at sea level again, though definitely not at point start. Its impact on me was somewhat less than `The Manifesto' but more challenging than Steven Pinker's `How the Mind Works'. To a scientist, it is enriching in many aspects, inviting to analyze, may occupy one's mind when one is wondering about, fixing a light bulb or jump-starting a car. To a philosopher, it is logically coherent, bringing the masters of rationality across the forbidden gates of biological sciences. To a free thinker, it is crucial to the understanding of modern debates on computer technology, brain sciences and cybernetics.