Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T01:56:02.262Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Alan Turing and the other theory of computation (expanded)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2014

Lenore Blum
Affiliation:
Carnegie Mellon University
Rod Downey
Affiliation:
Victoria University of Wellington
Get access

Summary

Abstract. We recognize Alan Turing's work in the foundations of numerical computation (in particular, his 1948 paper “Rounding-Off Errors in Matrix Processes”), its influence in modern complexity theory, and how it helps provide a unifying concept for the two major traditions of the theory of computation.

§1. Introduction. The two major traditions of the theory of computation, each staking claim to similar motivations and aspirations, have for the most part run a parallel non-intersecting course. On one hand, we have the tradition arising from logic and computer science addressing problems with more recent origins, using tools of combinatorics and discrete mathematics. On the other hand, we have numerical analysis and scientific computation emanating from the classical tradition of equation solving and the continuous mathematics of calculus. Both traditions are motivated by a desire to understand the essence of computation, of algorithm; both aspire to discover useful, even profound, consequences.

While the logic and computer science communities are keenly aware of Alan Turing's seminal role in the former (discrete) tradition of the theory of computation, most remain unaware of Alan Turing's role in the latter (continuous) tradition, this notwithstanding the many references to Turing in the modern numerical analysis/computational mathematics literature, e.g., [Bur 10, Hig02, Kah66, TB97, Wil71]. These references are not to recursive/computable analysis (suggested in Turing's seminal 1936 paper), usually cited by logicians and computer scientists, but rather to the fundamental role that the notion of “condition” (introduced in Turing's seminal 1948 paper) plays in real computation and complexity.

Type
Chapter
Information
Turing's Legacy
Developments from Turing's Ideas in Logic
, pp. 48 - 69
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

[BMvN63] Valentine, Bargmann, Deane, Montgomery, and John, von Neumann, >Solu-tion[s] of linear systems of high order, John von Neumann collected works (A. H., Taub, editor), vol. 5, Macmillan, New York, 1963, report prepared for Navy Bureau of Ordnance, 1946, pp. 421-478.
[BL12] Carlos, Beltrán and Anton, Leykin, Certified numerical homotopy tracking, Experimental Mathematics, vol. 21 (2012), no. 1, pp. 69-83.Google Scholar
[BP11] Carlos, Beltrán and Luis Miguel, Pardo, Fast linear homotopy to find approximate zeros of polynomial systems, Foundations of Computational Mathematics, vol. 11 (2011), no. 1, pp. 95-129.Google Scholar
[BS09] Carlos, Beltrán and Michael, Shub, Complexity of Bezout's theorem VII: Distance estimates in the condition metric, Foundations of Computational Mathematics, vol. 9 (2009), no. 2, pp. 179-195.Google Scholar
[BS12] Carlos, Beltrán and Michael, Shub, The complexity and geometry of numerically solving polynomial systems, 2012, preprint submitted November 7, 2012, arXiv:1211.1528 [math.NA].
[Blu90] Lenore, Blum, Lectures on a theory of computation and complexity over the reals (or an arbitrary ring), 1989 Lectures in the sciences of complexity II (E., Jen, editor), Addison Wesley, 1990, pp. 1-47.
[Blu91] Lenore, Blum, A theory of computation and complexity over the real numbers, Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM1990) (I., Satake, editor), vol. 2, Springer-Verlag, 1991, pp. 1492-1507.
[Blu04] Lenore, Blum, Computing over the reals: Where Turing meets Newton, Notices of the American Mathematical Society, vol. 51 (2004), pp. 1024-1034, http://www.ams.org/notices/200409/fea-blum.pdf.Google Scholar
[Blu13] Lenore, Blum, Alan Turing and the other theory of computation, Alan Turing: His work and impact (S. Barry, Cooper and Jan, van Leeuwen, editors), Elsevier, 2013, pp. 377-384.
[BCSS96] Lenore, Blum, Felipe, Cucker, Michael, Shub, and Stephen, Smale, Algebraic settings for the problem “P ≠ NP?”, The mathematics of numerical analysis, Lectures in Applied Mathematics, vol. 32, American Mathematical Society, 1996, pp. 125-144.
[BCSS98] Lenore, Blum, Complexity and real computation, Springer, New York, 1998.
[BS86] Lenore, Blum and Michael, Shub, Evaluating rational functions: Infinite precision is finite cost and tractable on average, SIAM Journal on Computing, vol. 15 (1986), no. 2, pp. 384-398.Google Scholar
[BSS89] Lenore, Blum, Michael, Shub, and Stephen, Smale, On a theory of computation and complexity over the real numbers: NP-completeness, recursive functions and universal machines, Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, vol. 21 (1989), pp. 1-46.Google Scholar
[Bur10] Peter, Bürgisser, Smoothed analysis of condition numbers, Proceedings of the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM 2010), vol. 4, World Scientific, 2010, pp. 2609-2633.
[BC11] Peter, Bürgisser and Felipe, Cucker, On a problem posed by Steve Smale, Annals of Mathematics, vol. 174 (2011), no. 3, pp. 1785-1836.Google Scholar
[BC13] Peter, Bürgisser and Felipe, Cucker, Condition, Grundlehren der mathematischen Wissenschaften, Springer-Verlag, 2013.
[BCL08] Peter, Bürgisser, Felipe, Cucker, and Martin, Lotz, The probability that a slightly perturbed numerical analysis problem is difficult, Mathematics of Computation, vol. 77 (2008), no. 263, pp. 1559-1583.Google Scholar
[Cuc02] Felipe, Cucker, Real computations with fake numbers, Journal of Complexity, vol. 18 (2002), no. 1, pp. 104-134.Google Scholar
[CSS94] Felipe, Cucker, Michael, Shub, and Stephen, Smale, Separation of complexity classes in Koiran's weak model, Theoretical Computer Science, vol. 133 (1994), no. 1, pp. 3-14.Google Scholar
[Dan47] George B., Dantzig, Origins of the simplex method, A history of scientific computing (S. G., Nash, editor), ACM Press, New York, 1990 (1947), pp. 141-151.
[Dem87] James Weldon, Demmel, On condition numbers and the distance to the nearest ill-posed problem, Numerische Mathematik, vol. 51 (1987), pp. 251-289, 10.1007/BF01400115.Google Scholar
[DSTT02] John, Dunagan, Daniel A., Spielman, and Shang-Hua, Teng, Smoothed analysis of Renegar's condition number for linear programming, SIAM Conference on Optimization, 2002.
[EY36] Carl, Eckart and Gale, Young, The approximation of one matrix by another of lower rank, Psychometrika, vol. 1 (1936), no. 3, pp. 211-218.Google Scholar
[Ede88] Alan, Edelman, Eigenvalues andcondition numbers ofrandom matrices, SIAM Journal on Matrix Analysis and Applications, vol. 9 (1988), no. 4, pp. 543-560.Google Scholar
[Ede89] Alan, Edelman, Eigenvalues and condition numbers of random matrices, PhD Dissertation, MIT, 1989, http://math.mit.edu/~edelman/thesis/thesis.pdf.
[Fed69] Herbert, Federer, Geometric measure theory, Grundlehren der mathematischen Wissenschaften, Springer, 1969.
[FHW48] Leslie, Fox, Harry D., Huskey, and James Hardy, Wilkinson, Notes on the solution of algebraic linear simultaneous equations, Quarterly Journal of Mechanics and Applied Mathematics, vol. 1 (1948), pp. 149-173.Google Scholar
[Gau03] Carl Friedrich, Gauss, Letter to Gerling, December 26, 1823, Werke, vol. 9 (1903), pp. 278-281, English translation, by George E. Forsythe, Mathematical tables and other aids to computation, vol. 5 (1951) pp. 255–258.Google Scholar
[GvN63] Herman H., Goldstine and John, von Neumann, On the principles of large scale computingmachines (unpublished), John von Neumann collected works (Abraham H., Taub, editor), vol. 5, Macmillan, New York, 1963, pp. 1-33.
[Grc11] Joseph F., Grcar, John von Neumann's analysis of Gaussian elimination and the origins of modern numerical analysis, SIAM Review, vol. 53 (2011), pp. 607-682.Google Scholar
[Hig02] Nicholas J., Higham, Accuracy and stability of numerical algorithms, second ed., Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2002.
[Hod92] Andrew, Hodges, Alan Turing: The enigma, Vintage, 1992.
[Hot43] Harold, Hotelling, Some new methods in matrix calculation, Annals of Mathematical Statistics, vol. 14 (1943), no. 1, pp. 1-34.Google Scholar
[Hou58] Alston S., Householder, A class of methods for inverting matrices, Journal of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, vol. 6 (1958), pp. 189-195.Google Scholar
[Kah66] William M., Kahan, Numerical linear algebra, Canadian Mathematical Bulletin, vol. 9 (1966), pp. 757-801.Google Scholar
[KM72] Victor, Klee and George J., Minty, How good is the simplex algorithm?, Inequalities III. Proceedings of the third symposium on inequalities (New York) (O., Shisha, editor), Academic Press, 1972, pp. 159-175.
[Kos88] Eric, Kostlan, Complexity theory of numerical linear algebra, Journal of Computational and Applied Mathematics, vol. 22 (1988), no. 2–3, pp. 219-230.Google Scholar
[New55] Maxwell H. A., Newman, Alan Mathison Turing. 1912–1954, Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, vol. 1 (1955), pp. 253-263.Google Scholar
[PER89] Marian. B., Pour-El and J. Ian, Richards, Computability in analysis and physics, Perspectives in mathematical logic, Springer Verlag, 1989.
[Ren88a] James, Renegar, A faster PSPACE algorithm for deciding the existential theory of the reals, Proceedings of the 29th annual symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, IEEE Computer Society, 1988, pp. 291-295.
[Ren88b] James, Renegar, A polynomial-time algorithm, basedon Newton's method,for linear programming, Mathematical Programming, vol. 40 (1988), pp. 59-93.Google Scholar
[Ren89] James, Renegar, On the worst-case arithmetic complexity of approximating zeros of systems of polynomials, SIAM Journal on Computing, vol. 18 (1989), no. 2, pp. 350-370.Google Scholar
[Ren95a] James, Renegar, Incorporating condition measures into the complexity theory of linear programming, SIAM Journal on Optimization, vol. 5 (1995), no. 3, pp. 506-524.Google Scholar
[Ren95b] James, Renegar, Linear programming, complexity theory and elementary functional analysis, Mathematical Programming, vol. 70 (1995), pp. 279-351.Google Scholar
[San04] Luis Antonio, Santaló, Integral geometry and geometric probability, Cambridge Mathematical Library, Cambridge University Press, 2004.
[Shu94] Michael, Shub, Mysteries of mathematics and computation, The Mathematical Intelligencer, vol. 16 (1994), pp. 10-15.Google Scholar
[Shu09] Michael, Shub, Complexity of Bezout's theorem VI: Geodesies in the condition (number) metric, Foundations of Computational Mathematics, vol. 9 (2009), no. 2, pp. 171-178.Google Scholar
[SS94] Michael, Shub and Stephen, Smale, Complexity of Bezout's theorem V: Polynomial time, Theoretical Computer Science, vol. 133 (1994), pp. 141-164.Google Scholar
[Sma81] Stephen, Smale, The fundamental theorem of algebra and complexity theory, American Mathematical Society. Bulletin, vol. 4 (1981), no. 1, pp. 1-36.Google Scholar
[Sma97] Stephen, Smale, Complexity theory and numerical analysis, Acta Numerica, vol. 6 (1997), pp. 523-551.Google Scholar
[Sma00] Stephen, Smale, Mathematical problems for the next century, Mathematics: Frontiers and perspectives (V. I., Arnold, M., Atiyah, P., Lax, and B., Mazur, editors), American Mathematical Society, 2000, pp. 271-294.
[ST01] Daniel A., Spielman and Shang-Hua, Teng, Smoothed analysis of algorithms: Why the simplex algorithm usually takes polynomial time, Journal of the ACM, (2001), pp. 296-305.Google Scholar
[Tar51] Alfred, Tarski, A decision method for elementary algebra and geometry, University of California Press, 1951.
[Tod50] John, Todd, The condition of a certain matrix, Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, vol. 46 (1950), pp. 116-118.Google Scholar
[Tod68] John, Todd, On condition numbers, Programmation en mathématiques numériques, Besançon, 1966, vol. 7, Éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, no. 165, 1968, pp. 141-159.
[TB97] Lloyd N., Trefethen and David, Bau, Numerical linear algebra, SIAM, 1997.
[Tur36] Alan Mathison, Turing, On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem, Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society. Second Series, vol. 42 (1936), no. 1, pp. 230-265.Google Scholar
[Tur45] Alan Mathison, Turing, Proposal for development in the Mathematics Division of an Automatic Computing Engine (ACE), Report E.882, Executive Committee, inst-NPL, 1945.
[Tur48] Alan Mathison, Turing, Rounding-off errors in matrix processes, Quarterly Journal of Mechanics and Applied Mathematics, vol. 1 (1948), pp. 287-308.Google Scholar
[vN89] John, von Neumann, The principles of large-scale computing machines, Annals of the History of Computing, vol. 10 (1989), no. 4, pp. 243-256, transcript of lecture delivered on May 15, 1946.Google Scholar
[vNG47] John, von Neumann and Herman H., Goldstine, Numerical inverting of matrices of high order, Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, vol. 53 (1947), no. 11, pp. 1021-1099.Google Scholar
[Wei00] Klaus, Weihrauch, Computable analysis: An introduction, Texts in Theoretical Computer Science, Springer, 2000.
[Wey39] Hermann, Weyl, On the volume of tubes, American Journal of Mathematics, vol. 61 (1939), pp. 461-472.Google Scholar
[Wil63] James Hardy, Wilkinson, Rounding errors in algebraic processes, Notes on Applied Science No. 32, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1963, also published by Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA and reprinted by Dover, New York, 1994.
[Wil71] James Hardy, Wilkinson, Some comments from a numerical analyst, Journal of the ACM, vol. 18 (1971), no. 2, pp. 137-147, 1970 Turing Lecture.Google Scholar
[Wit36] Helmut, Wittmeyer, Einfluß der Änderung einer Matrix auf die Losung des zugehörigen Gleichungssystems, sowie auf die charakteristischen Zahlen und die Eigenvektoren, Zeitscrift für Angewandte Mathematik und Mechanik, vol. 16 (1936), pp. 287-300.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×