Knowledge and Computing

In this expansion of a 1991 essay, Computer Epistemology, Vamos (the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) updates and continues the ongoing discussion on artificial intelligence, drawing on his experiences in machine pattern-recognition for vision systems and artificial intelligence and expert systems. The book can be read as a philosophical reflection on large-scale computer systems, straddling the area between theory and practical methodology. An introductory chapter explains the epistemic relationship of computer science and the information age. Subsequent chapters discuss the role of algebra in the origin of formal thinking, and deal with logic and uncertainty. This is followed by excursions into the fields of ontology, being, and beliefs. About 40 pages of mathematical appendixes are included. Although the material was originally written as an essay rather than a textbook, it can be used in a course introducing the philosophy of science. Advanced background in computer science is assumed, but the mood is kept light with b&w illustrations and cartoons. The book is distributed in the US by Books International. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Tibor Vamos is Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Board of the Computer and Automation Research Institute Hungarian Academy of Sciences Author of Computer Epistemology (1991) Coeditor of the Neumann Compendium (1995) and Springer Hand book of Automation (2009). He was the President of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), engineering leader of several large scale industrial projects, Fellow of IEEE, IFAC and ECCAI (European Coordinating Committee of Artificial Intelligence).