The Cambridge Quintet: A Work Of Scientific Speculation (Helix Books) [Hardcover]

John L. Casti (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201328283 | ISBN-13: 978-0201328288 | Publication Date: March 16, 1998 | Edition: 1st

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com 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.

From Library Journal

Casti calls this book a work of scientific fiction. He has created a narrative in which five scientists?C.P. Snow, J.B.S. Haldane, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Erwin Schrodinger, and Alan Turing?are invited to dinner to discuss whether machines will ever be able to think like human beings. He is well versed in the scientific positions of each of his characters as well as their personal characteristics and blends both together in a work that reads more like fiction than science. And the interaction of the five individuals, pairs of whom actually did know each other, gives the author a wealth of viewpoints to contrast to bring out the strength and weaknesses of their various arguments. But what does this work actually represent, aside from Casti's speculation and philosophical interpretation? He presents his ideas enthusiastically and clearly, but we are left with no more answers than the more recent artificial intelligence (AI) debates produced?which perhaps says more about the lack of progress of AI than about Casti's protagonists. Recommended for general collections.?Hilary Burton, Lawrence Livermore National Lab., Livermore, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Helix Books/Addison Wesley; 1st edition (March 16, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201328283
• ISBN-13: 978-0201328288
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,915,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Who would you invite to dinner, and why?, July 13, 2000

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This review is from: The Cambridge Quintet: A Work Of Scientific Speculation (Helix Books) (Hardcover)

Mr. Casti has crafted a wonderful book for readers, and not just those whose interest lay in Scientific "what if" scenarios. His topic is Artificial Intelligence and the probability it will become reality. The specific question is "Can we build a machine that could duplicate human cognitive processes?" The host for the evening is C.P. Snow, and his guests for dinner and debate are physicist Erwin Schrodinger, wave mechanics inventor, Ludwig Wittgenstein, 20th Century philosopher of language, geneticist J.B.S. Haldane, and finally Alan Turing, Mathematician and Father of modern computing.

Keep reading! You do not need to be a student of any of these fields or know who these men are, prior to embarking on this hypothetical snowy evening in Cambridge. And that is the genius of this book, or perhaps one element of it. For not only does Mr. Costi pick a topic that is still as relevant a debate today as it "was" in 1949, he makes the debates readable, and he introduces people who are as important, or even more critical than the names we attach to computers today.

The true genius is of course Mr. Costi, for not only does he posit the question, he selects great minds, and then uses his own to create a dialogue that demonstrates his vast knowledge of these men and their fields. Finally he places his creation in front of readers, not a select group, rather for anyone who is inquisitive. Winston Churchill asked a guest at his home one night to explain the "Theory Of Relativity" in one minute using words with only one syllable. His guest Frederick Lindemann proceeded to do just that. Mr. Costi uses words that violate the singular syllable rule, and if anyone could speed read the book in 60 seconds their effort would be pointless.

History can be boring or Martin Gilbert, Daniel J. Boorstin, Amanda Foreman, or Ron Chernow to name just a few can write it. The same can be said of science or the Law. The subjects can be cloaked in mystery not because they are complex, rather the skill to communicate what they are, is difficult for many, impossible for most, and fortunately for readers there are a few greater minds/communicators who can open these portals of knowledge.

The Hubble Telescope documents phenomena that are visually awe-inspiring. But until a Dr. Hawkings brings some meaning to them, they are just pretty pictures, images that show space in unimaginable dimensions, and objects that defy all commonly held thought.

Great book, great read, highly recommended!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Readable Primer on the Mind/Body Problem, October 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cambridge Quintet: A Work Of Scientific Speculation (Helix Books) (Hardcover)

Turing and Wittgenstein are the protagonists here, the former promoting a strictly algorithmic and formalistic approach to mind and language while the latter is equally vehement in his insistence on a social basis for all thought and conversation. Snow, Haldane, and Schrodinger, brilliant thinkers in their own fields, are not quite up to speed on mind/machine matters at the start of the dinner, but they get in the groove by the time the entree arrives. This is a clever move on Casti's part: readers who themselves have a little catching up to do can link up with Snow, et al, and follow the discussion without undue mental strain. The basic arguments remain unresolved at dinner's end, as indeed they remain so to this day. More disturbing is the realization that, in today's jargon, Turing is advocating only the weak form of artificial intelligence, while Wittengenstein seems to be deriding only the strong form. Casti might have addressed this more fully in his Afterward. And, he might have introduced the notion of probabilistic rules in Chapter 3, rather than let the reader think that the machine can only slavishly follow a deterministic program. But these are quibbles. Casti has done a fine job of making a fascinating field accessible to a wide audience.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good summary of AI main debate : can machines think ?, August 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cambridge Quintet: A Work Of Scientific Speculation (Helix Books) (Paperback)

This book will delight those already acquainted with Wittgenstein and Turing's perspectives. Easy to read, written in a very enjoyable style by John Casti (whom "Paradigms lost" constitute the masterpiece in my view), it nonetheless describes in a very sharp way the main arguments on both sides of the debate. Maybe too weak in the conclusion.