By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData CollectiveSmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    data-driven white label SEO
    Does Data Mining Really Help with White Label SEO?
    7 Min Read
    marketing analytics for hardware vendors
    IT Hardware Startups Turn to Data Analytics for Market Research
    9 Min Read
    big data and digital signage
    The Power of Big Data and Analytics in Digital Signage
    5 Min Read
    data analytics investing
    Data Analytics Boosts ROI of Investment Trusts
    9 Min Read
    football data collection and analytics
    Unleashing Victory: How Data Collection Is Revolutionizing Football Performance Analysis!
    4 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Afterthought: The third age of math
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
SmartData CollectiveSmartData Collective
Aa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Uncategorized > Afterthought: The third age of math
Uncategorized

Afterthought: The third age of math

StephenBaker1
Last updated: 2010/03/02 at 2:19 PM
StephenBaker1
4 Min Read
SHARE

I’m fascinated by a book I picked up at the library yesterday. It’s called Afterthought: The Computer Challenge to Human Intelligence. It was written by James Bailey, a former exec at Thinking Machines Corp., way back in 1996.

Here’s his thesis: We’re entering the third age of maths (as he called them). Each is a product of the technologies and media available, and each changes the way we think. In the first age, the Greeks were trying to figure out the location of themselves in the world and the universe. They focused on ‘Where’ and developed geometry to handle the job. With the scientific revolution, and the development of mechanical clocks, the focus turned to movement: speed, velocity, pace. And for this, Newton and others developed calculus.

Now, Bailey writes, much of science, academia and industry remains locked into an equations paradigm even as the next stage of math makes its entrance. This is the search for patterns in immense sets of data. It has more to do with statistics, probability, genetic algorithms, cellular automata, etc. (He was heralding the Numerati a decade before I started writing the book.)

Bailey makes the point that…

More Read

big data improves

3 Ways Big Data Improves Leadership Within Companies

IT Is Not Analytics. Here’s Why.
Romney Invokes Analytics in Rebuke of Trump
WEF Davos 2016: Top 100 CEO bloggers
In Memoriam: Robin Fray Carey


I’m fascinated by a book I picked up at the library yesterday. It’s called Afterthought:
The Computer Challenge to Human Intelligence. It was written by James
Bailey, a former exec at Thinking Machines Corp., way back in 1996.

Here’s
his thesis: We’re entering the third age of maths (as he called them).
Each is a product of the technologies and media available, and each changes the way we think. In the
first age, the Greeks were trying to figure out the location of
themselves in the world and the universe. They focused on ‘Where’ and
developed geometry to handle the job. With the scientific revolution,
and the development of mechanical clocks, the focus turned to movement:
speed, velocity, pace. And for this, Newton and others developed
calculus.

Now, Bailey writes, much of science, academia and
industry remains locked into an equations paradigm even as the next stage
of math makes its entrance. This is the search for patterns in immense
sets of data. It has more to do with statistics, probability, genetic
algorithms, cellular automata, etc. (He was heralding the Numerati a
decade before I started writing the book.)

Bailey makes the point that the technology we have at hand greatly influences the types of calculations we do. In ancient time, for example, the Greeks drew their geometical designs on papyrus. To their east, Babylonians were also carrying out sophisticated astronomical calculations. But their cuneiform tablets (above) didn’t lend themselves to arcs and tangents. (Try drawing a good circle in clay) So they used a number-based system, which led to algebra.

Through the Middle Ages, Europeans kept at geometry, drawing their circles and triangles in hand-written books. But with the printing press, this became difficult. They switched to a numbers- and letters-based approach that could be laid out in movable type. With computers, Bailey writes, we’re moving back into a medium built for graphical representations. And they’ll communicate the evolving, morphing, teeming behavior of networks, contagions, automata–all them summoned by mankind’s third generation of math.

I only started reading the book yesterday. I might be posting more about it. Incidentally, I’m flying to Abu Dhabi on Sunday for three days at the Media Summit there.That’s about 26 hours in airplanes, coming and going. I’ll need some other books to take along, and am open to all suggestions.

Link to original post

StephenBaker1 March 2, 2010
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

big data and IP laws
Big Data & AI In Collision Course With IP Laws – A Complete Guide
Big Data
ai in marketing
4 Ways AI Can Enhance Your Marketing Strategies
Marketing
sobm for ai-driven cybersecurity
Software Bill of Materials is Crucial for AI-Driven Cybersecurity
Security
IT budgeting for data-driven companies
IT Budgeting Practices for Data-Driven Companies
IT

Stay Connected

1.2k Followers Like
33.7k Followers Follow
222 Followers Pin

You Might also Like

big data improves
Big DataJobsKnowledge ManagementUncategorized

3 Ways Big Data Improves Leadership Within Companies

6 Min Read
Image
Uncategorized

IT Is Not Analytics. Here’s Why.

7 Min Read

Romney Invokes Analytics in Rebuke of Trump

4 Min Read

WEF Davos 2016: Top 100 CEO bloggers

14 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

ai is improving the safety of cars
From Bolts to Bots: How AI Is Fortifying the Automotive Industry
Artificial Intelligence
ai in ecommerce
Artificial Intelligence for eCommerce: A Closer Look
Artificial Intelligence

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?