Sorry for the long time lapse, but from the dearth of comments, I guess not many people missed me. I invested in renewing my hosting account, so I’d better get back to work on the blog.

I will start back with the first of what I hope will be many entries on the history of computation. Notice I didn’t say the history of computing; I intend to throw in a bit of the history of mathematics and lives of mathematicians. I was very fortunate to take a course in same from Otto Neugebauer at Brown University in the late 50’s (1950’s). A common thread throughout this blog will be to share off-beat things I have been exposed to. In this case, however, I believe that computation as a science (Mathematics) and computing as an industry are inextricably linked. This point is especially well made in a book by another one of the teachers I have been fortunate to have been exposed to, Martin Davis at the Courant Institute of NYU. The book I am referring to is Engines of Logic, and more about it and Martin in a later blog.

“They’re baaaaack!” – Heather O’Rourke in Poltergeist II: The Other Side (1986)