Product Description
With a foreword by Paul M. Churchland and Patricia S. ChurchlandThis book represents the views of one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century on the analogies between computing machines and the living human brain. John von Neumann concludes that the brain operates in part digitally, in part analogically, but uses a peculiar statistical language unlike that employed in the operation of man-made computers. This edition includes a new foreword by two eminent figures in the fields of philosophy, neuroscience, and consciousness.

Amazon.com Review
Whether they think that artificial intelligence is impossible or inevitable, most people have highly polarized views on it. John von Neumann, genius, mathematician, and inventor of the nearly ubiquitous computer architecture that bears his name, blazed trails for both camps in The Computer and the Brain. This short book, which was written originally for Yale's Silliman lectures, but published posthumously, summarizes his views on machine and biological intelligence with unprecedented clarity and precision. His understanding of neuroscience was that of a brilliant and strongly motivated amateur at the end of the 1950s--good enough to take on the problem, but by no means matching his comprehension of the machines to which he had devoted much of his professional life. Still, his take on intracranial computation is stunningly prescient--he looks beyond the then-fashionable digital metaphors to suggest a semi-analog strategy that uses parallel processing to make up for its deficiency in speed. Prominent neuroscientific thinkers Paul M. Churchland and Patricia S. Churchland provide a brief, enlightening foreword to this second edition, placing the author's thinking in context and grounding the reader in the scientific milieu that gave rise to The Computer and the Brain. Although his computer architecture slowly is growing obsolete, von Neumann has given us a more lasting legacy in his thinking about thinking. --Rob Lightner

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 8 reviews)

John von Neumann on computer logic by Rama Rao (Annandale, VA, USA)

3 Stars
November 02, 2009
Von Neumann is one the brilliant mathematician and an expert of computer logic. This book is dated, manuscript written in 1957, but from the historical perspectives it still well worth reading. Neumann's pioneering work lead to considerable advances in computers and his ideas lead to advances in computer automation and robotics. The thoughts of Klara von Neumann, the wife of John Neumann provides a brief sketch of events that lead to the presentation at the Silliman Foundation lectures at Yale University. Neumann was diagnosed with bone cancer that confined him to the wheelchair. His health deteriorating by the day until his death in early 1957, unable to deliver the prestigious lecture and unable to complete the manuscript for the lecture, Yale University eventually published his partly-completed manuscript as a part of the prestigious Silliman lectures. This book is described in two parts; the computer and the brain. The basic concepts of analog and digital procedures, the characteristics of digital machine types and their basic components, memory-stored controls, memory capacities, and the concept of access time are discussed with regards to the machine. In the second part the author discusses the structure and function of human brain and compares the common characteristics between the brain and computer. The author provides a comparative analysis of the nerve cell (neuron); how it generates and propagates nerve impulses compared with generation and propagation of computer messages. The author looks at the complexity on neurons and its functions; the nature of the nerve impulses, the process of its stimulation, digital character, the problem of memory within the nervous system. Although the author still refers to vacuum-tube machines, the flip-flops, and transistor technology, but the basic concepts underlying the development of memory elements in a computer is well worth the reading. The recent advances in automation and robotics illustrate the early contribution of von Neumann in this field. In a recent study, Christopher Macleod and his colleagues in Aberdeen, UK, have created a robot that evolves like a living species in biological evolution. When the incremental evolutionary algorithm (lEA) realizes that its evolutions are no longer improving the robot's speed it freezes the neural network it has evolved, denying it the ability to evolve further. The sensors determine what it needs to carry out a given task most effectively. As animals evolved, the robots can evolve similarly. The robot can also adapt to newly acquired vision, and learn how to avoid or seek light when given a camera. This is just like the way the brain evolved building up in layers. 1. Minds, Brains, and Computers: An Historical Introduction to the Foundations of Cognitive Science (Blackwell Philosophy Anthologies) 2. Toward Brain-Computer Interfacing (Neural Information Processing) 3. From Computer to Brain 4. The Conscious Mind: Programming The Brain-Computer 5. Creating Brain-Like Intelligence: From Basic Principles to Complex Intelligent Systems (Lecture Notes in Computer Science / Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence)

The genius looks at where the inner workings of a genius is... by Emre Sevinc (Antwerp, Belgium)

5 Stars
September 21, 2009
After 50 years, this book by the genius John von Neumann is still relevant in many aspects. I wish I had read this before I started my cognitive science education or before I have written my cog. sci. thesis. Neumann's insights into the architecture of the information processing of the brain is what many scientists today consider a nearly standard framework. Anybody in interested in the intersection of computing science and brain research should read this short and sharp book, not only for its contents but also for Neumann's style.

Computer Science by Carlos Jorge (Lisboa, Portugal)

5 Stars
September 26, 2008
The Computer and the Brain, by John von Neumann, is theoretical work which examines mathematics, logic's, and statistics as the basic tools of information. The book explores how these subjects make up the entirety of the planning, usage and coding of computers. The author explores how mathematics and logic are related to the functions of the organic human brain in the same way they are applied to the artificial automated computer processor.

Interesting but no goosebumps by D. Sean West (Seattle, WA)

3 Stars
January 26, 2005
After the quick read that it was this morning I am left uncertain as to exactly how I feel about this book. On the positive side even though one does get the feeling that The Computer and the Brain is slightly dated (1958) it has held up remarkably well despite the extreme rate of technological development. On the negative side though it is a bad sign when the most enjoyable part of a book is the foreword. The cover of the book basically tells the whole story, apples and oranges- for while as von Neumann recognizes that "the most immediate observation regarding the nervous system is that its functioning is prima facie digital" the connection between them is not as strong as a first glance might suggest. There doesn't seem to be too much that a study of one can teach us about the other but maybe finding out that lack of an underling connection is just as useful as finding such a connection. While this book is a fairly good recitation of the facts (at least as they were known in 1958) I can't say there is really much here to recommend it to the casual reader- think that only as a reference work can this book gain high praise.

Dated, but always worth reading von Neumann by James Arvo (Pasadena, CA USA)

4 Stars
July 09, 2003
Von Neumann was one of the most celebrated and prolific mathematicians of the 20'th century; his contributions were legion, and always bore unmistakable creativity and elegance. "The Computer and the Brain" is a record of a lecture series that von Neumann delivered at Yale University in 1957. In these lectures, von Neumann set out to explore connections between computing hardware and their biological counterparts; brains. Von Neumann compared neurons with physical computing elements in terms of size, speed, heat dissipation, capacity, etc., in an attempt to discover what, if anything, could be said to unite them or to set them apart. He drew from what had been learned in designing computer instructions and memories in an attempt to glean some insight into what the brain might be doing. Ever the consummate mathematician, von Neumann was guarded in his statements, never over-reaching or confusing speculation with fact.The ideas contained in these lectures will come as no great surprise to most scientists today; indeed, I would expect most to simply nod in agreement at most of von Neumann's observations. For example, von Neumann notes that neurons are essentially digital in that they have an all-or-nothing activation energy. However, it is interesting to see how seriously he pursues the idea that the brain may rely upon a mixture of analog and digital encodings; he took absolutely nothing for granted, and may well have been vastly ahead of his time.Although von Neumann's many references to vacuum tubes and differential analyzers may seem archaic today, his central points remain essentially intact. I'm certain that von Neumann would have felt somewhat vindicated by the explosive advances in semiconductor devices (in both digital and analog incarnations), as well as in machine learning and neurobiology. One can perhaps view von Neumann's lectures as the first glimmerings of what would eventually become fruitful exchanges between computer science and various biological disciplines.If you are looking for a discussion that will give you some insight into artificial intelligence, neural networks, or brain physiology, then I'm afraid you will likely be disappointed with this book. While many of von Neumann's observations may have been controversial at the time, they have for the most part moved quietly into the collective consciousness of scientists. However, if you have interest in either the historical development of these ideas, or in seeing how one of the preeminent minds of the 20'th century approached this vexing new problem, then it will be worth your time.What I most enjoyed about this book is von Neumann's methodical and exceedingly cautious approach, coupled with his occasional willingness to speculate. As the vast majority of von Neumann's writings are accessible only to a very small audience, such as his enormously influential treatises on quantum mechanics, geometry, and game theory, and his pioneering work in areas such as functional analysis and operator theory, this little book is perhaps unique in that it lets you in on the ground floor.

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Cybernetics, Second Edition: or the Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine by Norbert Wiener (Author) "It appers impossible for anyone seriously interested in our civilization to ignore this book. It is a `must' book for those in every branch of science . . . in addition, economists, politicians, statesmen, and businessmen cannot afford to overlook cybernetics and its tremendous, even terrifying implications. "It is a beautifully written book, lucid, direct, and despite its complexity, as readable by the layman as the trained scientist." -- John B. Thurston, The Saturday Review of...
	The Mathematical Theory of Communication by Claude E Shannon (Author), Warren Weaver (Author) Scientific knowledge grows at a phenomenal pace--but few books have had as lasting an impact or played as important a role in our modern world as The Mathematical Theory of Communication, published originally as a paper on communication theory in the Bell System Technical Journal more than fifty years ago. Republished in book form shortly thereafter, it has since gone through four hardcover and sixteen paperback printings. It is a revolutionary work, astounding in its foresight and...
	The Essential Turing: Seminal Writings in Computing, Logic, Philosophy, Artificial Intelligence, and Artificial Life plus The Secrets of Enigma by Alan M. Turing (Author), B. Jack Copeland (Editor) Alan Turing was one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. In 1935, aged 22, he developed the mathematical theory upon which all subsequent stored-program digital computers are modeled. At the outbreak of hostilities with Germany in September 1939, he joined the Goverment Codebreaking team at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire and played a crucial role in deciphering Engima, the code used by the German armed forces to protect their radio communications. Turing's work on the version...
	The Human Use Of Human Beings: Cybernetics And Society (Da Capo Paperback) by Norbert Wiener (Author) Only a few books stand as landmarks in social and scientific upheaval. Norbert Wiener's classic is one in that small company. Founder of the science of cybernetics—the study of the relationship between computers and the human nervous system—Wiener was widely misunderstood as one who advocated the automation of human life. As this book reveals, his vision was much more complex and interesting. He hoped that machines would release people from relentless and repetitive drudgery in order to...
	God and Golem, Inc.: A Comment on Certain Points where Cybernetics Impinges on Religion by Norbert Wiener (Author) The new and rapidly growing field of communication sciences owes as much to Norbert Wiener as to any one man. He coined the word for it--cybernetics. In God & Golem, Inc., the author concerned himself with major points in cybernetics which are relevant to religious issues. The first point he considers is that of the machine which learns. While learning is a property almost exclusively ascribed to the self-conscious living system, a computer now exists which not only can be programmed to play...