Turing's Cathedral

Before the flatscreen liquid crystal display, there was the cathode ray tube or CRT. Those electronic furnaces were the standard display device of desktop computing in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.  Before then, back when 1024 bits was a very large memory array and the largest computer in the world had 40 of those, the CRT was a storage device: numbers were written to the screen as blobs of light; and those blobs of light - 0s and 1s - were read by another beam.  And yet, for all of the seeming primitiveness, much that we do was done before in just that environment.  

Weather modeling was tested and proofed. Thermonuclear reactions were modeled - and so was stellar evolution... and so was the evolution of the digital world, the computer modeling itself as a projection of the binary future we now live without question.  Stanislaw Ulam, John von Neumann, Oswald Veblen, Robert Oppenheimer, Freeman Dyson, and Alan Turing were among about 25 or 30 pioneers, innovators, and visionaries of applied mathematics and frontline engineering, defined by a Platonic vision of the smartest people given free rein to do what they wanted without worrying about money.

In this detailed history of the earliest days of computing, the guest star, Alan Turing, is only a visitor.  The center belongs to John von Neumann, easily a man of Newtonian genius who thought deeply and clearly from the broadest abstractions to the minutest technical detail.  The atomic age and the information age brachiated from the trunk of Budapest's noble Jewry, its cafes, its huge homes of commerce.  It was reflected in the fineries of university culture across Eastern Europe and within the heart of Europe, Germany. And when the weeds of ignorance and hatred overran the garden of culture and learning, those who could came here.  Among them, also was Alan Turing. Though England was nominally a democracy, Turing would eventually be hounded to suicide by the oppressive and repressive politics of national security.  That same drive enveloped the Institute for Advanced Study and drove barbed tendrils into its structure, stinging Oppenheimer, and then those who had sided with or against him.  

Through all of that, the ENIAC ran continuously, a niggling 40 banks of 1024 bits modeling thermonuclear explosions and therefore the evolution of stars.  We can click on AccuWeather.com because meteorologists 70 years ago proved their theories with a 24-hour forecast that took 24 hours to run on the world's first computer.  Our digital world of iPads and Androids and wearable tech evolved from an array of vacuum tubes that was used to model the Darwinian evolution of an array of bits in a competitive environment.

PREVIOUSLY ON NECESSARY FACTS

John Kemeny Knew: We Shall Have Computed

BASIC: Turing's Truth

Claude M. Watson

The Code Book

Contradictions in the Patentability of Numbers

A number can be patented.  The US Patent and Trademark Office will claim that this is not true, but has indeed given patents to numbers.

The title, “On Computable Numbers” (rather than “On Computable Functions”) signaled a fundamental shift.  Before Turing, things were done to numbers. After Turing numbers began doing things.  By showing that a machine could be encoded as a number, and a number decoded as a machine, “On Computable Numbers” led to numbers (now called “software”) that were “computable” in a way that was entirely new.” – Turing’s Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe by George Dyson, New York: Pantheon, 2012.

Since 1880, the USPTO has not required an actual working model, but will grant a patent only based on the plans.  Therefore, without actually producing the working program as an array of gates on an integrated computer circuit (or “chip”), you could get a patent on the Gödelized code for the description: one number would contain all of the necessary information.  That is an extreme example.  Many more instances, all  mundane to computing are easy to find.

The binary number 00100000 = 20 in hexadecimal or base 16 is the same as 32 in base-10.  For a computer that is controlled by an Intel 80xxx processor, that number encoded on an integrated circuit “chip” will terminate the program process.  It is a “stop” command.   The number could be “burned in” and the logic gates would be permanent.  Most often, though, the integrated circuit chip is programmable and only holds a temporary configuration. 

A computer program is just a number.  At the level of human obviousness, a computer program is a string of numbers.   Here is a program.

10110100 00101100 11001101 00100001 10110000 01000110 11111110 11101110 00001010 00100000 00000001 10001001 11000010 10110100 00001001 11001101 00100001 11001101 00100000

That binary representation might seem esoteric, but to a programmer who knows Intel 80xxx processors and the MS-DOS (“Windows”) operating system, it is as “clear and open” as Morse code to an old Navy radioman.  Here it is in hexadecimal as a more human-friendly kind of computer code.

B4 2C

CD 21

B0 46

F6 EE

05 20 01

89 C2

B4 09

CD 21

BA 18 01

CD 21

CD 20

Here is what that means and what it does:

B4 2C    MOV AH,2C       Get the clock

CD 21    INT 21          execute

B0 46    MOV AL,46       Get the seconds

F6 EE    IMUL DH         multiply the DH by the Seconds   

05 20 01 ADD AX, 0120    add 120 to that

89 C2    MOV DX,AX       put that number in the DX register

B4 09    MOV AH,09       display to screen

CD 21    INT 21          execute

BA 18 01 MOV DX, 0118    end of line

CD 21    INT 21          execute

CD 20    INT 20          quit

If this were programmed into an integrated circuit chip it would be a Fortune Cookie device. (It would need the list of Fortunes, but those are plain text and easy to insert.)

Again, for the purposes of the USPTO, every computer is momentarily “hard wired” to be a machine with a specific purpose. Each program that it runs creates a new “machine.”  Every computer program creates a new mechanism, a new system of logic gates “burned” (temporarily) into an array of integrated circuits.

That is another fundamental contradiction in patent law.  If every program creates a new “machine” then so must every change order, every update, every bug patch.  

Would a bug patch release not invalidate the previous patent?  Patent law has no way to deal with an inventor’s invalidation of his own creation.

PREVIOUSLY ON NECESSARY FACT

Objective Intellectual Property Law

Patent Nonsense

US Patent Law Does Not Add Up

Gödelized Codes

This was described in "The Gold at Starbow's End" by Frederick Pohl in Analog Science Fiction / Science Fact, April 1972. The example here is mine.

Write out the plain text message.  Encipher each letter with a prime number in sequence: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, ... Then, use the alphabet position of the letter as an exponent.  A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4, and so on.  Raise the prime number to the exponent and you have an integer.  Multiply all the integers of the text into one large number.  

HIDE A BAD FACE

TEXT	H	I	D		E			A		B		A	D
PRIME	1	2	3		5			7		11		13	17
POSITION	8	9	4		5			1		2		1	4
FACTOR	1^8	2^9	3^4		5^5			7^1		11^2		13^1	17^4
INTEGER	1	512	81		3125			7		121		13	83521
TEXT	F			A		C					E
PRIME	19			23		29					31
POSITION	6			1		3					5
FACTOR	19^6			23^1		29^3					31^5
INTEGER	47045881			23		24389					28629151

The product of all the integer factors for this one artificially easy example is over

4,739,426,072,295,360+ sextillion.  

Using the Preamble to the Constitution - "We the people of the United States..." - the H enciphers to 3^20 or 3486784401 and the first P is more than 45949729863572200.

The message conveys meaning only when it is deciphered.  It is easy to see that the longer the message, the harder that will be.  It quickly surpasses any theoretical computing ability and soon requires more time than is in the universe. 

That being true, it remains that the single large integer does uniquely contain that information and no other.

The method was name for Kurt Gödel. “In mathematical logic, a Gödel numbering is a function that assigns to each symbol and well-formed formula of some formal language a unique natural number, called its Gödel number. The concept was used by Kurt Gödel for the proof of his incompleteness theorems. (Gödel 1931).” Wikipedia here. 

ALSO ON NECESSARY FACTS
Charles Babbage: Code Breaker 
Codes and Coins 
U. S. Patent Law Does Not Add Up 
Soldiers of Peace

Firefighters

At the checkout of my local HEB Grocery Store, the guy behind me had a cake: "Good luck ...  Manchaca Fire Department..."  I handed him my card, and said that although I am a technical writer, my degrees are in criminology.  "You  don't get that with police," I said, indicating the cake.  "No?" he asked.  "I would not expect it," I replied.  We thanked each other and I left.  The police are necessary and important; without them, you have a failed State.  That being so, nonetheless, firefighters live the hardest line of the highest virtues in protection of the lives and properties of others.    

FEMA has a ton of statistics that necessarily hide the people. The Yarnell Hill Wildfire of 2013 took 19 City of Prescott firefighters. 

On June 18, 2007, nine firefighters died when the roof of a burning warehouse collapsed. One witness called it “a tornado of fire.” They entered the building to search for one person reportedly still trapped inside. Although this was the worst loss since 9/11, multiple fatalities are common in firefighting.  

At the same time, their continuous-duty cycles – living at the station for one to  three days at a time – means that they have other jobs, other careers, other concerns that take them away. That creates a challenge for the chief who needs to maintain levels of competency and efficiency. Furthermore, the rigorous, on-going education makes a trained firefighter valuable to any department; and that reinforces any desire to move away from a community to pursue those other careers.

"If his intuitions are unclear, he will call in a captain to meet the prospect, but,  generally, as long as the legal requirements are met, what counts most is impressing the chief as someone who is professional and community-oriented." “We have 32 people here with 32 personalities,” he said. His firefighters come from all of the diversity groups in his  community. “You take them as they are,” he said, “a perfectionist or a slob. You learn their personality and live with it and you get used to it. We rely on each other. Police are  trained to be loners. Firefighters are trained to be a team.”

[From A Taxonomy of Teamwork, term paper  for Business Management 386: Organizational Behavior and Theory, Dr. Richaurd Camp, Eastern Michigan University, Summer 2007.]

PREVIOUSLY ON NECESSARY FACTS

Volunteering in an Emergency: What to Expect

Longhorn Fire and Safety

Whitman Publishing: Fact and Value in Numismatics

Since the very first Red Book in 1946, Whitman Publishing has supported the hobby and science of numismatics with the annual “Red Book” and “Blue Book” price guides.  Over the past 20 years, their renewed effort continues to deliver high-quality, authoritative books, lavishly illustrated, at affordable prices.   Whether your interest is in American coinage, North American paper money, ancient coins, merchant tokens, or medals, Whitman has a reference book that will illuminate the known facts and excite your curiosity for what remains to be discovered.

You can buy it at any coin store and at
most book stores and you can find it used
at your library sale

The Red Book (A Guide Book of United States Coins by R. S. Yeoman and Kenneth Bressett) is the standard reference for U.S. coinage, including federal, colonial, pioneer, merchant, and other issues.  It is centered on U.S. Federal coinage from 1794 to the present.  The book presents physical dimensions, grading standards, approximate valuations, history, and a bibliography of authorities for each issue.  Most people have never seen a half cent, 2-cent, 0r 3-cent coin.  The “trimes” were struck on both silver and copper-nickel.  The $4 gold “Stella” was a pattern piece intended to induce Congress to join the Latin Monetary Union of France, Switzerland and 20 other nations.  It was not successful.  The 20-cent silver was also intended to bring the U.S. into the international arena. It also failed. 

If you inherit a trove of coins from an old relative, what are they worth?  The Red Book will tell you, approximately.  The prices here are the best guess for the retail price that a collector would pay.  A dealer will pay less, of course.  For that, the companion Blue Book of wholesale sell prices is somewhat more accurate.  But the Blue Book lacks all the history and narrative.  So, we use the Red Book and figure that dealers will pay 40%... 50%... or 60% less…  Except, of course, for the coins that even they cannot easily get, such as the 1877 Indianhead Cent or 1848 CAL $2.50 quarter Eagle gold.

Found at Mass Retailers and Big Box Stores
No Pioneer Gold or other Extraneous Issues
Just US Federal 1794 to Present

       The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins (Professional Edition) by R. S. Yeoman; Kenneth Bressett, series editor; Jeff Garrett, valuations editor; Q. David Bowers, research editor. (Whitman Publishing LLC, 2009.)

         Criticisms of the “Professional Edition of the Red Book” appeared on the numismatic discussion boards and email lists as soon as it was announced. The new, larger format (full 8½ x 11) was a surprise. Suspicion that this “inside” information was denied to collectors who bought the “ordinary” Red Book had a reverse side: Is this all of the professional information, or are they holding back?  Why did they create two Red Books, instead of just incorporating all of the information from both into one book?  Finally, many collectors wanted to know, “Is it worth buying?”

            To take the last point first, the cover price is $29.95, which is a small investment for the information in this 383-page compendium of auction summaries, historical background, type and variety details, high resolution illustrations, and market insights.

            As for the arrays of information, the easiest view is that the Professional Edition presents details on only the high-value coins in each series. For Morgan Dollars, only Mint State grades are tabulated, while for early Large Cents to 1814, VF grades are included. Although V-Nickels and Buffalo Nickels are priced EF-40 and above, data for Jefferson Nickels begins with MS-64 Full Steps. Generally, grading stops at MS-65 and Proof-65. Populations and markets become too thin. However, for Roosevelt Dimes up to 1964 grades run MS-63, 65, 66, 67, and 68, whereas after 1965, only the four highest grades are priced. In short, the editors have taken great care to present the information actually needed by professionals when faced with a certain coin of a certain type, date, and mint.

American Silver Eagles (2nd Edition) by John M. Mercanti, with Michael "Miles" Standish. Whitman 2013. 166 + ix pages. $29.95.

American Gold and Platinum Eagles by Edmund C. Moy. Whitman 2014 212 + x pages. $29.95.

Personally, I never gave them much thought... Then I read a collectors’ discussion board thread on “Counterfeit Eagles.” Moreover, they are not merely bullion, but collectibles in their own right, with long histories, and varieties. Note, however, that as true moderns (“post moderns”?), their characteristics are not those of the classic coins. “First Strike’ certification may remain as arguable as any other grading point but the markets seem to continue supporting them. “Burnished” coins join Regular and Proof designations. Is a Burnished MS-70 worth more than a Proof 70? Apparently so.

Morgan Dollar: America's Love Affair with a Legendary Coin Featuring the Coins of the Coronet Collection by Michael "Miles" Standish with John B. Love; Forward by John M. Mercanti. Whitman. 2014. 154 + v pages, 8-1/2 x 11. $29.95.

PCGS ranked this as the finest collection of Morgan Dollars. But this is not a VAM book. Each of these wonderful coins is just an example of an issue - but the highest known grade, including those that are Deep Mirror Prooflike (DMPL). Looking at the numbers on each page, it is astounding how rare certified coins are. 5 million... 8 million... 11 million struck, but only a few thousand certified; and of those only a few hundred are of the highest grades.

Of course, there is more to numismatics than grading. This book provides an insightful - sometimes quirky - history of the Morgan Dollar, placing it in its cultural context. Knowledgeable collectors will identify the goddess on the obverse as Anna Williams of Philadelphia. Perhaps not, says Standish, citing a Coin World article from 2002 that revealed a letter from George Morgan denying that any one model served for Miss Liberty.

This book also delivers an in-depth analysis of pricing as cited in the Red Book.

Carson City Morgan Dollars Featuriing Coins Of The GSA Hoard by Adam Crum, Selby Unger and Jeff Oxman. Now 130 + v pages, still $24.95, with new photographs from historical archives, "revisions from ongoing research" and the usual tables of reliable price estimates. The GSA Hoard made headlines in October 1972. The release of 2.9 million Carson City Dollars drastically changed the markets as rarities became common. They continue to live a life of their own, still collectible as GSA Hoard Dollars.  Carson City Morgan Dollars are one of the many niches that reward detailed study and careful collecting. The new handbook from Whitman is a nice introduction to a fascinating array of coins and people. As the price of silver broke away from mint parity in the early 1960s, collectors exhibited a “feeding frenzy” for silver dollars. In March 1964, the US Treasury halted the exchange of silver dollars. The Congressional Joint Committee on Coinage called on the Government Services Administration to operate a mail bid sale for the remainder of the inventory, about 10% of which were discovered to be from Carson City. The GSA created an “A Team” of experts to grade the coins for sale, including John J. Pittman, Amon Carter and Margo Russell.

Colonial and Early American Coins by Q. David Bowers, Atlanta: Whitman Publishing LLC, 332 pages. $49.95

Q. David Bowers has outdone himself. Far more than yet another interesting book about fascinating highlights in numismatics, Colonial and Early American Coins is a new standard reference for the new century. That is highly appropriate because as divisive as our politics can be – Howard Fast to Ayn Rand; Al Franken to Ann Coulter – perhaps no period of American history collects liberals and conservatives, paleos and neos, traditionalists and libertarians, as does the colonial and early federal. Proof of that is the fact that the popular edition of this book is sold out. (The premium binding is still available as of this writing, July 2009.)

            “Colonials have always played to a fairly lively market, but a small one in comparison to federal coins,” Bowers replied to me via email (04/30/2009). “I am not aware of any time in American numismatic history, from the 1850s when collecting became popular, down to the present day, that, for example, a basic 1652-dated Pine Tree shilling in Fine grade has declined in value. A charting at ten-year intervals will show an increase. The reason for this is that Colonial coins have little if any interest to “pure” investors or speculators. Instead, the market has been completely comprised of buyers who are interested in Colonial coins and their history, and who cherish their ownership.”

            Like other works in the Whitman Encyclopedia series of books, this volume also adheres to a standardized format that meets the most important needs of the broadest set of collectors. Each entry has a new Whitman number along with the variety numbers from the previous standard references, Ryder, Maris, etc., and an estimation of rarity. Most of the entries carry a vector of prices for grades Good through Mint State. (Others are seen too seldom at auction.) 

            In addition to Bowers’ efforts, Ken Bressett was tapped for a Forward and the valuations were reviewed by Lawrence Stack. Introductory chapters on colonial economics and minting methods provide a contextual foundation. The third chapter delivers a historical overview of the collecting of these coins and tokens, including famous sales. Special attribution guides for Connecticut, New Jersey and Fugio issues bring the fruits of 150 years of numismatic study to today’s collectors.

Harlan Berk’s 100 Greatest Ancient Coins.   “Knowledge is king,” said Harlan J. Berk, asking rhetorically, “Do you have a Hannibal portrait versus just another Melqart?”  For Berk, learning is a lifelong process, and writing 100 Greatest Ancient Coins exemplified that. “Syracuse was founded on a small island and then moved to Sicily. The four dolphins [on their large silver coins] represent the sea. I had not known that. If I did not, then others probably did not as well.”

            To validate the book, Berk relied on his extensive network of personal friends and professional contacts in numismatics. Among them were Alan Walker, Ute Wartenberg Kagan, Curtis Clay and Phil Davis.

            The tally of one hundred coins came from a poll the world’s hundred best numismatists.  “I chose the group,” Berk said. “I gave [Whitman] the names of a hundred or so academics, collectors, and dealers from around the world.” Each person in this group submitted their own list of a hundred or so aesthetically superior or historically important issues. All of the polling was requested, accepted and compiled via emails. Perhaps not surprising in an antiquarian, Berk himself is not an engrained user of electronic media. His own preference would have been for paper and postage. Nonetheless, he remains satisfied with the final inventory. This same group provided the experts who reviewed the essays.

[Portions of these reviews were published in other venues.]

PREVIOUSLY ON NECESSARY FACT

Seeing American through Paper Money

Numismatics: the Standard of Proof in Economics

Numismatics Informs Economics

Art and Copy