Thinking logically

Professor Rod Downey FRSNZ gave the 2019 Rutherford Lecture in five centres on the mathematical and philosophical background to our digital age. Winner of the 2018 Rutherford Medal, Rod was recognised for his revolutionary research into computability and the algorithmic study of randomness. In his kōrero, he outlined the advances in mathematics and technology that have led to today’s algorithms and computers, including the history of ‘logical thought’ going back to the time of Aristotle.

“Computers were born from logic, which is the part of mathematics that takes language seriously and is the ‘calculus’ of computing. My work has given some new approaches to understanding how to cope when certain problems seem too hard to solve exactly in any reasonable time.”

ROD DOWNEY

LISTEN TO RNZ INTERVIEW: THE COMPUTER SAYS YES – LOGIC, ALGORITHMS AND SOCIETY

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