Join Cool Science for Science on Tap every 2nd Monday of the month at Jack Quinn’s in downtown Colorado Springs. Presenters begin at 6:30 pm with food and drink available beginning at 6:00 pm. A wide variety of fascinating topics are presented by local scientists for informal discussion, and the relaxed atmosphere encourages anyone and everyone to come explore the latest ideas in science and technology. From practical to theoretical, the presentations and group interactions provide a fun and interesting way to gain an understanding of the world around us.
Next On Tap: Monday, October 14, 2019
The Turing Tumble
Summary: What is computation? What exactly are computers doing when they do what they do? The generally accepted answer to this question was developed by Alan Turing in his landmark 1936 paper "On Computable Numbers". Turing's paper laid the foundation for computer science as a discipline, and paved the way for the construction of the first computers a few years later. Interestingly, what is now regarded as Turing's primary contribution to intellectual history, the rigorous definition of computation, was not the reason he wrote the paper. He simply needed the idea to be well-defined in order to achieve his real goal, solving a fundamental problem in the foundations of mathematics. This talk will present Turing's work in the context of his time. We'll discuss the problem he was trying to solve, and the nature of his contribution: The Turing Machine. Some of its most basic concepts will be illustrated with Turing Tumble, a toy developed by a computer science professor to introduce the basics of computation and logical thinking.
Bio: Dr. Barry Fagin graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 1982, and received the PhD in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987. He is currently Professor of Computer Science at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs*. Dr Fagin is the author of over thirty scholarly papers covering areas of computer science and public policy. He is also a former Information Director for ACM/SIGCAS, a Senior Member of the IEEE, and an Adjunct Scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. His current research involves improving internet security through the development of software with mathematically provable security properties. Most important of all, he is the father of Max and Erica Fagin.
Bio: Dr. Barry Fagin graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 1982, and received the PhD in Computer Science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1987. He is currently Professor of Computer Science at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs*. Dr Fagin is the author of over thirty scholarly papers covering areas of computer science and public policy. He is also a former Information Director for ACM/SIGCAS, a Senior Member of the IEEE, and an Adjunct Scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC. His current research involves improving internet security through the development of software with mathematically provable security properties. Most important of all, he is the father of Max and Erica Fagin.
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