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Turing (A Novel about Computation)
By Christos H. Papadimitriou


 


Product Description:

Our hero is Turing, an interactive tutoring program and namesake (or virtual emanation?) of Alan Turing, World War II code breaker and father of computer science. In this unusual novel, Turing's idiosyncratic version of intellectual history from a computational point of view unfolds in tandem with the story of a love affair involving Ethel, a successful computer executive, Alexandros, a melancholy archaeologist, and Ian, a charismatic hacker. After Ethel (who shares her first name with Alan Turing's mother) abandons Alexandros following a sundrenched idyll on Corfu, Turing appears on Alexandros's computer screen to unfurl a tutorial on the history of ideas. He begins with the philosopher-mathematicians of ancient Greece -- "discourse, dialogue, argument, proof... can only thrive in an egalitarian society" -- and the Arab scholar in ninth-century Baghdad who invented algorithms; he moves on to many other topics, including cryptography and artificial intelligence, even economics and developmental biology. (These lessons are later critiqued amusingly and developed further in postings by a fictional newsgroup in the book's afterword.) As Turing's lectures progress, the lives of Alexandros, Ethel, and Ian converge in dramatic fashion, and the story takes us from Corfu to Hong Kong, from Athens to San Francisco -- and of course to the Internet, the disruptive technological and social force that emerges as the main locale and protagonist of the novel.

Alternately pedagogical and romantic, Turing (A Novel about Computation) should appeal both to students and professionals who want a clear and entertaining account of the development of computation and to the general reader who enjoys novels of ideas.



Summary: Boring though educative
Rating: 3

This novel tried to imitate the famous "Sophie's World" in computation. As long the pedagogy is concerned this novel passed the test favorably, but as the fiction is concerned it failed miserably. The story doesn't flow at all. Too much vagueness everywhere. Its a story about too smart people, no place for average people - a weird juxtaposition. The idea of adding in appendix a blog that clarifies some of the ideas mentioned in the text is superb indeed. But overall it is a failed attempt to write a novel by a very accomplished textbook author.



Summary: Don't get this if you're interested in computation, and don't get it if you aren't.
Rating: 2

This is a rather bland novel interspersed with a very rudimentary introduction to computer science, starting with the basic operation of semiconductors and working up to operating systems, applications, and AI, all at a very superficial and occasionally inaccurate level.



Summary: A Novel Approach to Fiction
Rating: 4

I loved this book, I first heard about it when Papadimitriou gave a guest-lecture at my school on the application of game theory to the study of the evolution of the internet. Much of the story involves tutoring sessions between Turing and Alaxendros while in the background a story evolves. There are some interesting aspects to this book that set it apart from most fiction I've read, for example, there are citations scattered about which point to transcripts from a fictional newsgroup discussion. I found this approach to be much more pleasing than footnotes explaining back story. (...)



Summary: Bravo !
Rating: 5

A must read for computer science. I love the way how Chritos explain the theories of math and cs. The book is extremely fun to read. Great book.



Summary: A charming short novel
Rating: 4

An interesting novel in the vein of Sophi's World. As that story introduced the reader in a gentle fashion to the history of western philosophy, this book introduces the reader to the history of computation. It is wrapped in a love story (or perhaps a love triangle story would be better). As other reviewers have mentioned, the range of topics cover is expansive and somewhat eclectic. But it works nonetheless. The newsgroup postings at the end are apparently fictional as well, or at least fictionalized.