The Computer and the Brain

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Second Edition

John von Neumann; With a foreword by Paul M. Churchland and Patricia S. Churchland

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Price: $11.00

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This book represents the views of one of the greatest mathematicians of the twentieth century on the analogies between computing machines and the living human brain. John von Neumann concludes that the brain operates in part digitally, in part analogically, but uses a peculiar statistical language unlike that employed in the operation of man-made computers. This edition includes a new foreword by two eminent figures in the fields of philosophy, neuroscience, and consciousness.

“This innocent-looking little book lies at the eye of a hurricane. It represents a locus of clarity and calm at the center of a vast vortex of powerful arguments and competing research programs. And it is all the more singular for having been written . . . at the very beginning of the recent explosion in electronic computer technology.”—Paul and Patricia Churchland, from the foreword

From reviews of the first edition:

“Highly original and intensely stimulating.”—S. Ulam, Scientific American
“An outstanding example of J. von Neumann’s insight, brilliance and clarity."—Mathematical Reviews

At the time of his death in February 1957, John von Neumann, renowned for his theory of games and his work at the Electronic Computer Project at the Institute for Advanced Study, was serving as a member of the Atomic Energy Commission. Paul M. and Patricia S. Churchland are professors of philosophy at the University of California, San Diego.

“This innocent-looking little book lies at the eye of a hurricane. It represents a locus of clarity and calm at the center of a vast vortex of powerful arguments and competing research programs. And it is all the more singular for having been written . . . at the very beginning of the recent explosion in electronic computer technology.”—Paul and Patricia Churchland, from the foreword

“On opening The Computer and the Brain, I expected to find it ‘of historical interest only’ (as one of my own professors used to say rather loftily of Principia Mathematica). To the contrary, the book abounds with insights so deep they have not yet been internalized by any but a very small number of specialists.”—John Derbyshire, New Criterion

“Von Neumann was one of the top experts in all aspects of computing . . . and one of the most rigorous minds ever to discuss the computational organization of brains. His last book presents one of the most sophisticated comparisons ever made between computers and brains. . . . It’s a landmark in the history of computing, psychology, and neuroscience, and it’s required reading for anyone interested in the foundations of those disciplines.”—Gualtiero Piccinini, Minds and Machines

“Highly original and intensely stimulating. His ideas will have great value to further investigation.”—S. Ulam, Scientific American (from an earlier edition)

“An outstanding example of J. von Neumann’s insight, brilliance and clarity.”—Mathematical Reviews

ISBN: 9780300084733
Publication Date: July 11, 2000

112 pages, 5 x 7 3/4

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