The Tinkertoy Computer and Other Machinations (Paperback)

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Product Description

Can a contraption made of tinkertovs win at tic-tac-toe? Can a computer be programmed to converse? Compose music? Recreate thunderclouds? Can mathematics really explain anything" Everything' Elaboration on these and other questions can be found in The Tinkertoy Cornpitter an. OtherMachinations. This latest collection of A. K. Dewdney's columns from the pages of ScientijicAmerican and Algorithm centers on four basic themes of the electronic aLe: Matter Computes, Matter Misbehaves, Mathematics Matters, and Computers Create. . This framework provides the basis for explorin- chaos and fractals, artificial intelligence, computer-generated works of art, and other captivating topics. 'I'he book is also a rich . recreational resource: most chapter, contain r ecipes and algorithms from which working programs can be constructed. Readers will have their computers playing golf, simulating weather patterns, and much, much more!

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: W.H. Freeman & Company (June 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 071672491X
• ISBN-13: 978-0716724919
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,175,861 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, you can compute using tinkertoys!, June 29, 2000

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Tinkertoy Computer and Other Machinations: Computer Recreations from the Pages of Scientific American and Algorithm (Hardcover)

The master machinator is at it again, explaining computer science in ways that are offbeat, understandable and exciting. Yes, it is true that a functional computer was built by students at M. I. T. using Tinkertoys, and it played a mean game of tic-tac-toe. While fun to think about and look at, this idea contains much that is deeply significant. As those exposed to Turing Machines know, located in chapter six of this book and found in Dewdney's other works, computer computations are built using very simple base models. There is no theoretical distinction between the actions of a Tinkertoy computer and the fastest supercomputer. The ultimate capabilities of computers, if such things really exist, are not a function of the complexity of the base operations.
Which leads to the discussion of a heated debate taking place in and around the Artificial Intelligence (AI) community. Arguers against the notion of true machine intelligence use the underlying simplicity of computer computations to refute the idea that machines can ever develop self-awareness. Which is now becoming the irrefutable proof of true AI, supplanting the Turing test. Dewdney handles this philosophical discussion very well, posing his own questions. Such as, will we ever truly know what thinking really is?
Chaotic music, neural networks, programming Star Trek and golf games; computers that "passed" the Turing test and computer sculptures are just some of the additional material covered. The number of ways Dewdney finds to further explain computer science is nothing short of amazing.
Another in a growing list of superb primers in computer science by this author, one can only hope that they keep coming. Each essay is a jewel to be treasured and pondered.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Curious Book, January 5, 2001

By	jon (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This book is ideal for anyone who likes to tinker with computers and/or is into programming, electroincs, math, or physics. It is a composition of mental explorations which range from building a computer out of tinkertoys to chaos theory, computer-generated music, and fractal geometry. Most chapters are easy reads, but a couple get a little dry. Overall it was a very enjoyable, thought-provoking book.