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Introduction: Leibniz, Turing, Zuse, and Beyond

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The Universe as Automaton

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Complexity ((BRIEFSCOMPLEXITY))

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Abstract

According to Einstein, a scientific explanation should be as simple as possible, but not too simple, for it to be realistic. It would be nice to understand the great scientific problems of the universe (such as cosmic expansion, black holes, the evolution of life, and brains) with just basic knowledge. The toy world of cellular automata is an intuitive, but mathematically precise model that may be used to illustrate fundamental problems of topical research. The philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716), who constructed one of the first mechanical calculating machines, considered, even then, the universe as an automaton created by God as a divine engineer and mathematician. The theory of cellular automata was independently initiated by several computer pioneers, among them John von Neumann (1903–1957) and Konrad Zuse (1910–1995).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technische Unviversität München, Lehrstuhl für Philosophie und Wissenschaftstheorie, Arcisstrasse 21, 80333, Munich, Germany

    Klaus Mainzer

  2. EECS Department, University of California, Cory Hall #1770 253, Berkeley, CA, 94720-1770, USA

    Leon Chua

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  1. Klaus Mainzer
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  2. Leon Chua
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© 2012 Klaus Mainzer

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Mainzer, K., Chua, L. (2012). Introduction: Leibniz, Turing, Zuse, and Beyond. In: The Universe as Automaton. SpringerBriefs in Complexity. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23477-4_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23477-4_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-23476-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-23477-4

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