February 14, 2017 Tuesday
Bedtime Story
Theory of Computation
In computer science, a branch of it goes by the name of
computability theory.
Computability theory is for computer science students what
histology is for medical students.
Study of tissues under microscope is fundamental to medical
diseases and pathologies as the ultimate diagnosis of any ailment rests with
the pathologists.
I would strongly recommend the book “The Final Diagnosis” (1959)
by Arthur Hailey, the British-Canadian novelist which is set around a pathology
department in an American hospital.
Storyline and hospital politics aside, this novel gives a great
insight into the field of pathology and how it underlies the entire field of
medicine.
For computability theory, I am not aware of any such novel and so
you can stick to my bedtime stories.
Computability theory goes to the very heart of theory of
computation.
Computability theory is one of the three branches of Theory of Computation, the other two
being the automata theory and computational complexity theory.
Theory of computation is essentially about problem solving using
mathematical models and logic.
I always thought that computer science is about computing.
In fact, computing is merely a tool.
Computer science is all about problem solving.
A computer scientist merely devises an algorithm, a step-by-step
list of instructions that is targeted to solve a specific problem.
Any problem for which an algorithm can be devised is known as a
computable problem.
If you notice, the emphasis is not on the machine (computer) but
rather to the algorithm or it solvability.
It must not be assumed that all the problems have solutions, i.e.,
not all problems are computable.
It is one of the tasks of a computer scientist to determine
whether a problem is computable or not.
At its post primeval level, the Theory of Computation seeks to answer the following question:
“What are the fundamental capabilities and limitations of
computers?”
Computability theory also known as recursion theory is
specifically the study of computable functions and Turing degrees.
It is computable functions that I plan to discuss and not Turing
degrees which I may take up in future.
Stay tuned to the voice of an average story storytelling
chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.in/
Good night mon ami and my fellow cousin ape.
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Another great educator and a teacher that I am aware of is
Professor Subhashish Chattopadhyay in Bangalore, India.
While I narrate stories, Professor Subhashish an electronic
engineer and a former professor at BARC, does and teaches real mathematics and
physics.
He started the participation of Indian students at the
International Physics Olympiad.
Do visit him here:
All his books can be downloaded for free through this link:
For edutainment and English education of your children, I
recommend this large collection of Halloween Songs for Kids:
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