1837-1900

1837: Bernard Bolzano, a mathematician, made the first modern attempt to formalize semantics (the study of meaning). This term is currently used in several disciplines and subfields, including linguistics, philosophy, and computer science. Bolzano’s semantic concepts of logical fact and logical consequence were almost 100 years ahead of their time. He is known for his famous Paradoxes of the Infinite and specific results that have become standard in mathematics textbooks, such as the Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem. Bolzano’s talented and outstanding versatility was evident with his essential contributions to other fields of knowledge besides philosophy. Although not appreciated at that moment, he became one of the last great polymaths.(1)

1854: George Boole, a logician, philosopher, and English mathematician, was born in 1815. He spent most of his brief career as the first mathematics professor at Queen’s College in Cork, Ireland. He worked in differential equations and algebraic logic fields and is best known for his book “The Laws of Thought,” published in 1854, where he discussed Boolean algebra. Boole incorporated methods from the emerging field of symbolic algebra into reasoning and revolutionized logic. His method presented general algorithms in an algebraic language applied to an infinite variety of complex arguments. In contrast, conventional (Aristotelian) logic focused on cataloging the valid syllogisms of various simple arguments.

1854: George Boole, a logician, philosopher, and English mathematician, was born in 1815. He spent most of his brief career as the first mathematics professor at Queen’s College in Cork, Ireland. He worked in differential equations and algebraic logic fields and is best known for his book “The Laws of Thought,” published in 1854, where he discussed Boolean algebra.

Boole incorporated methods from the emerging field of symbolic algebra into reasoning and revolutionized logic. His method presented general algorithms in an algebraic language applied to an infinite variety of complex arguments. In contrast, conventional (Aristotelian) logic focused on cataloging the valid syllogisms of various simple arguments.

His methods appeared in two renowned works, The Mathematical Analysis of Logic (1847) and The Laws of Thought (1854). His groundbreaking contributions laid the foundation for modern mathematics, microelectronic engineering, and computer science. Boole’s legacy is all around us: computers, information storage and retrieval systems, electronic circuits, and controls that sustain life activities, learning, and communications in the twenty-first century.(2)

1863: According to Samuel Butler, Darwinian evolution may apply to robots too, as he believed that machines would one day become conscious and ultimately supplant humankind. One of his articles suggested that machines were a type of “mechanical life” constantly evolving and could, eventually, displace humans as superior species. Butler accepted evolution but rejected Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. In his book Evolution, Old and New (1879), he accused Darwin of borrowing heavily from Buffon, Erasmus Darwin, and Lamarck while playing down these influences and giving them little credit.(3,4,5)

1863: According to Samuel Butler, Darwinian evolution may apply to robots too, as he believed that machines would one day become conscious and ultimately supplant humankind. One of his articles suggested that machines were a type of “mechanical life” constantly evolving and could, eventually, displace humans as superior species. Butler accepted evolution but rejected Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection.

In his book Evolution, Old and New (1879), he accused Darwin of borrowing heavily from Buffon, Erasmus Darwin, and Lamarck while playing down these influences and giving them little credit.(3,4,5)

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1837-1900