How syllogism is the foundation of modern computer sciences? From Aristotle to Turing

We all wonder how the modern world of endless technologies has paved way for daily human comfort while the truth probes deeper and in fluid complexity.

Syllogism and Deductive Reasoning

Syllogism is a part of deductive reasoning where propositions are laid and mostly comprise of three arguments and statements, two of which are premises and one is the conclusion. Rummaging from a thought process to the creation of new judgements is similar to going through different premises and skimming through available information to a point of considerable and logical judgement. Between the phase of inference and conclusion lies critical thinking and apprehension abilities (Ramirez,2018). Deductive Reasoning is a form of logical thinking and composition of a general idea at the start and gaining a specific and particular conclusion, also called top-down thinking and a movement from general to specific thinking rationales. Applied in a multitude of industries and valued greatly in today’s corporate sector and giant information technology-backed organizations. Premises are therefore the foundation for modern logical reasoning with vast applications in the corporate sector. A simple example to make it more understandable and graspable is the if/then statements. If A=B and B=C, then according to deductive reasoning A=C (Doyle, 2020). Dating back to the history of deductive reasoning Aristotle was the father of deductive reasoning and used Syllogism to relate the premises and reach a specific conclusion. According to the concept of syllogism, Aristotle developed understandable sets of syllogistic statements. For example, if all men are mortal and Socrates is a man then the conclusion is Socrates is mortal. In today’s world, the vast use is in computer sciences spectrum and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deductive reasoning are paving the way to influence common sense AI and affiliated future technologies. Although it is still a challenge Deductive Reasoning in AI will aid and facilitate the amendment of this particular dimension (Rouse, n.d.). In today’s world and technology movement, AI is eminent in the forms of Chatbots and Artificial General Intelligence. In chatbots, the science underpinned is due to the inclusion of Modern Formal Logic and its roots are in mathematics. In Aristotle’s works of logic, Organon plays a significant role and profuse role. These days the advanced levels of deductive reasoning are in the shape of chatbots using mathematical logic and making evocative exchanges with human beings. Whereas, Artificial Intelligence to one school of thought states that Artificial General Intelligence employs term logic and its rules of inference and engraves the pivotal components of AGI. The renowned platforms are OpenCog and OpenNars having general-purpose reasoning to their core. The vast applications are in health and robotics. Term Logic employs copula denoting a relational link called a “special kind of”. For example, Bird -> Animal, also called Bird is also a kind of an animal. Fitting natural language in form of a logical framework is called Term Logic (Urbino, 2020). Whereas logic is used to get conclusions we cannot deny the use the limitations which logic has. Logic and its value lie in correctness and the ability to solve problems. As humans process thoughts differently, logic doesn’t have the capacity to process thoughts with human efficacy. The prominent logic limitations are Partial Truth, Language, Uncertainty and Human Perception. Partial Truths hold many forms of logic either true or false neglecting the premises. As rational thought can see a glass as approximately half full and logic states that this is false whereas human perception sees the glass as half full and half empty. This problem has fuzzy logic added. Language adds complexity to the formal language of logic. Languages levies limitations that don’t exist in natural language. Uncertainty is not handled by logic. Logic having no capacity to handle uncertainty has difficulty integrating with real-world scenarios. The final limitation is Human Perception. It is difficult to collate the values, aesthetics, emotions and cultural norms and practices with logic (Spacey, 2015).

Notable Contributors in Computer Sciences

With consecutive and sequential progress in logic and technological advancement, Alan Turing made significant contributions to the field of Logical computations and modern computing groundwork. He theorized Artificial Intelligence and laid the pillar to formulate and conceptualized future advancements in the very avenue.

Alan Turing

Alan Turing was a renowned British Scientist whose name came under the limelight during World War II. The reason for his fame was breaking a complex German Enigma Code. His early childhood and reaching the age of 13 gave him an opportunity to advance in modern scientific ideas where he found his interest in relativity (“Alan Turing”, n.d.). He found his new home in Cambridge and received his mathematics degree with absolute distinction. Studying at Cambridge he found his interest in Abstract Mathematical ideas that ushered him in a multitude of collected directions and pathways. In 1936, he published the paper that at present is the foundation of modern computer science. He gave an idea of a Practical Machine able to decode any set of given instructions. The idea caught a blazing interest and became an electronic computer ten years later handling and running any program (“Alan Turing”, n.d.). After two years in Princeton, he adopted the idea of secret cyphers, returned to Britain and joined Government’s code-breaking department. In 1939, information was passed by Polish Cipher Bureau related to Enigma Machine used by Germans. It held sensitive information about military and naval signals. In September of 1939, he joined Bletchley Park and constructed a new machine called Bombe which could decipher codes and messages for government and industries (“Alan Turing”, n.d.). He also worked on electronic connection and encryption coupled with decrypting telephonic conversations. Turing worked on the theory of life and its purpose was the study of patterns, combinations, designs and stripes using the Manchester Computer (“Alan Turing”, n.d.). Died in mysterious circumstances and his homosexuality became the cause of his suicide leaving a legacy behind until now.

Elon Musk

Famous for his innovative and momentous journey in the digital world, Elon Musk maintained himself on the pinnacle of success by launching various subsidiaries under his lead (“Elon Musk Biography”,2020). Born in South Africa he is an American Entrepreneur. As a child, he was keen to learn and develop new ideas. He was lost in his ideas that his parents thought that he is having some difficulty hearing. After the divorce of his parents, he developed an interest in programming that led him to develop his own game at the age of 12 which he sold as well under the name of Blastar (“Elon Musk Biography”, 2020). Elon’s father was a wealthy engineer in S. Africa. In 1992, he left Canada to study business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania. Later, he left for Stanford University in California for pursuing PhD in the field of energy physics. He left this area when the Internet Boom surged. Soon after leaving he launched his first company in 1995 and became a U.S citizen in 2002 (“Elon Musk Biography”, 2020).

Zip2

Musk founded his first company by the name of Zip2 along with his brother Kimbal Musk in 1995 in Palo Alto, California. Zip2 was the first software company that created online city guides for newspapers. They eventually sold it to Compaq for approximately $300 million in 1999. The financial gain from selling Zip2 was used to find another company X.com (Huddleston, 2018).

X.com

In 1999, after selling Zip2 to Compaq, Elon founded X.com focusing on financial services and integrated Email Payment systems and gateways. After a year of its optimal functioning, X.com merged with Confinity. The new giant merged with PayPal (Evannex, 2020). In 2001 PayPal had around four million customers and was listed as a preferred payment service. The company was later bought by eBay in 2002 for $1.5 billion. Elon Musk gained a financial gain of $165 million from the selling deal (Evannex, 2020).

Hyperloop

Another innovative venture carried on by Elon Musk is Hyperloop. Hyperloop is a futuristic travelling technology made with the purpose to transport people faster than a traditional Airplane. The venture aims to carry people in approximately 30 to 35 minutes in tube-shaped low-pressure and floating pods at 750 miles an hour. The design of the futuristic travelling system will replace present-day railway systems using magnetic levitation to minimize friction. Futuristic Travel Supporters and Geeks state that this will be a cheap mode of transportation and efficiently quicker as well. The project itself doesn’t revolve around innovation rather it will encompass economic benefits as well. The technology is expected to be available for public use after 2020. At present, it is going under trial phases. Potential routes can be made in the US, Europe, New York to Washington DC, Pune to Mumbai, Kansas City to St Louis, Bratislava to Brno, Vijaywada and Amaravati and various other routes. The idea is of using low-pressure or vacuum tubes to facilitate transportation. The pods will work by generating velocity from the linear electric motors and would be powered by solar panels. The project will take $6 billion and every thirty seconds 28 passengers will travel. To make the travelling safe and comfortable lateral G-Force will be used on bends at different points of routes. The fast-paced Hyperloop will take off and accelerate equivalent to the taking off of a Boeing 747. The pods will be surrounded internally by beautiful landscapes. Per ticket, the cost will be $20 per passenger (Ranger, 2019).

Space X

Elon Musk initiated another aerospace project to enable colonization of Mars and design rockets that are reusable in nature. Space X has flown six cargo resupply missions to International Space Station and has also given a contract with NASA to manufacture, design and develop spacecraft for carrying crew members to and from ISS. Under its supervision Space X has launched Falcon 1 and Falcon 2 rockets. Space X is a privately held company and suffered various setbacks when its Falcon 9 rocket exploded after liftoff. Further remodelling and technologies are implanted in the remodelling of new Falcon 9 rockets (Morris, 2015). The idea of reusability is preferred by Musk as he believes that if Boeing 747 can be reused so should be the case with Space Rockets. Reusability will minimize the cost of flying people and cargo orbit. Musk’s love for technology, computers and Engineering has made his journey and new ventures more doable and eminent (Kelly, 2020).

Tesla

Tesla Motors is a giant electric car manufacturer that takes the first three spots when it comes to other competitors in car manufacturing. The choice of name after the famous scientist Nikola Tesla was used because the genius who developed the AC electric motor was Nikola Tesla. Tesla’s co-founder was Martin Eberhand and used the name Tesla for his electric car manufacturing. To Eberhand the electric car manufacturing and Tesla as its name was catchy and used as an honour to the renowned scientist (McFadden, 2020). In 2003, Eberhand and Marc Tarpenning started working together and started its operations. Later when General Motors destroyed the prototypes of their electric vehicle the EV-1. In 2004, Elon Musk came to join the company and facilitated Tesla in initial capital raising. The idea of the entire organization is to run around producing effective electric cars and selling them to the public. Strategies were formulated to release Sports Car as a product bolstering Return on Investment. The Sports Car was followed by a $60,000 Sedan and a $30,000 Sedan to be sold to the masses.

The first phase strategy was to launch Tesla Roadster which got released in 2008 and was slightly expensive for consumers. It continued to be sold for four years and in 2012 it stopped its manufacturing. The Tesla Roadster was later purchased by Musk himself in 2009 that was sent to space. After Tesla Roadster the next electric car that emerged on the scene was The Model S, released in 2012. At present, its price is around $74,500. Its technologies included autopilot, supercharging and others. The car faced future upgradation in the manufacturing for future versions like other companies. Another Competitive Advantage that sets Tesla apart is the ability to charge itself at supercharging stations designed in a way to be plugged in any place in the world. At its first release car owners were allowed to use it free for a lifetime. The current version of the car is around $35,000 compacted with a larger battery and enhanced luxury element (“A Brief History of Tesla Motors”, n.d.).

Conclusion

Elon Musk has kept himself in limelight every now and then with new technologies and future-oriented systems. He is famous among consumers as well as Business Community. His magnanimous contribution to innovative and faced paced, energy-efficient ideas has won him various innovator and entrepreneur of the year awards (Morris, 2015).