Turing's Cathedral
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Leibniz’s digital universe. Design for a silver medallion, presented by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz to Rudolph August, Duke of Brunswick, January 2, 1697, demonstrating “the creation of all things out of nothing through God’s omnipotence” by means of binary arithmetic. Digital computing, believed Leibniz, was fundamental to the very existence of the universe, and not merely a tool for the benefit of “those who sell oil or sardines.” (From a reproduction in Erich Hochstetter and Hermann-Josef Greve, eds., Herrn von Leibniz’ Rechnung mit Null und Einz [Berlin: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, 1966])
The author at the Institute for Advanced Study, October 31, 1954. Left to right: Verena Huber-Dyson, Esther Dyson, George Dyson, Katarina Haefeli. (Courtesy of the author)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
George Dyson is a historian of technology whose interests have included the development (and redevelopment) of the Aleut kayak (Baidarka, 1986), the evolution of digital computing and telecommunications (Darwin Among the Machines, 1997), and the exploration of space (Project Orion, 2002).
ALSO BY GEORGE DYSON
Baidarka
Project Orion
Darwin Among the Machines