CSE 4/510 & PHI 498, Spring 2004

Reading Assignments

Last Update: 18 April 2004

Note: NEW or UPDATED material is highlighted

Notes:
  1. Reading assignments are listed in reverse chronological order.
  2. All readings are accessible from "buffalo.edu" machines via the appropriate "Directory of Documents" webpages indicated below (next to "Topic").

  1. NEW Assigned: 20 Apr 04
    Topic:     Philosophy of Computer Science

    1. Scheutz 2002
    2. Smith 2002

  2. Assigned: 6 Apr 04
    Topic:     Computer Ethics

    Required:

    1. Moor 1979

        • Highly recommended!!!:             
        		 Johnson 2002
        • Recommended:
        		Friedman & Kahn 1992

    2. Lachat 1986

        • Highly recommended!!!!!!!!!!!:    
        		Lem 1971

    Recommended:

  3. Assigned: 30 Mar 04
    Topic:     Philosophy of AI

    1. Turing 1950
    2. Searle 1980

  4. Assigned: 23 Mar 04
    Topic:     Can programs be verified?

    Required:

    Strongly recommended:

  5. Assigned: 11 Mar 04
    Topic:     Can programs be copyrighted or patented?

    Required:

    Recommended:

  6. Assigned: 4 Mar 04
    Topic:     What is software?

    Required:

    Strongly Recommended:

    Recommended:

  7. Assigned: 2 Mar 04
    Topic:     What is a computer program/Are programs theories?

    Required:

    1. Read the passages quoted from Johnson-Laird 1981, Pylyshyn 1984, and Johnson-Laird 1988 carefully.
    2. Weizenbaum 1976
    3. Simon 1996

    Recommended:

    1. Wilks's chapter in Partridge & Wilks 1990 has a confusing, but useful, overview of the many meanings of "theory" and "model".

    2. Daubert v. Merrell 1993 has interesting observations on the nature of scientific theories and expertise.

    3. Green 2004 has a useful survey of different views of scientific explanation and scientific models embedded in a discussion of connectionism.

  8. Assigned: 24 Feb 04
    Topic:     What is a computer program/What is implementation?

    1. Chalmers 1993a or 1993b
    2. Rapaport 1999

  9. Assigned: 17 Feb 04
    Topic:     What is hypercomputation?

    1. Copeland 2002 ("Hypercomputation")
    2. Kugel 2002

  10. Assigned: 10 Feb 04
    Topic:     What is a procedure?

    1. Preston 2000 (skim §1-2; read §§3-4; skim the rest)
    2. Cleland 1993

  11. Assigned: 5 Feb 04
    Topic A:     What is an algorithm?--Part II

    1. Soare 1996 or 1999, §§1-3, 4.5-5 (skim the rest)

    Topic B: What is a computer?--Part II

    1. Searle 1990
    2. Hayes 1997

  12. Assigned: 29 Jan 04
    Topic:     What is an algorithm?--Part I

      Required:

    1. Henkin 1962
      • Discusses the history of logic and the foundations of math that led up to Turing's analysis.
    2. Herman 1983
      • Discusses the informal notions of "algorithm" and "effective computability"; good background for Turing 1936.
    3. Turing 1936
      • Concentrate on the informal expositary parts; the technical parts are, of course, of interest, but are rather difficult to follow, and incorrect in many parts, and can be skimmed.
      • In particular, concentrate on §§1-6 (study the simple examples of Turing machines carefully; skim the complex ones) and §9, part I (which elaborates on what it is that a human computer does).
      • §7 describes the universal Turing machine; §8 describes the Halting Problem. You can skim these sections.
      • If you get lost, try Suber 1997, Copeland 2004, or Copeland & Gordon's AlanTuring.net website for "gentler" expositions.

      Recommended:

    4. Browse through the "Examples of Algorithms"; enjoy the cartoons :-)
    5. Boehm & Jacopini 1966
    6. Haugeland 1981
    7. Soare 1996
      • Tough going in spots (you can skim those spots), but the rest is a good discussion and history of the competing analyses of "computable" (e.g., how "Turing's Thesis" is different from "Church's Thesis").

  13. Assigned: 27 Jan 04
    Topic:     What is a computer?--Part I

      Required:

    1. "A Very Brief History of Computers"; browse the linked websites.
    2. O'Connor, J.J., & Robertson, E.F. (1998), "Charles Babbage".
    3. Simon & Newell 1958, pp. 1-3 (on Babbage); skim the rest.
    4. Ensmenger 2004 (soon to be on-line).

  14. Assigned: 20 Jan 04
    Topic: What is science?

      Required (when they become available on-line):

    1. Papineau 1996: esp. pp. 290-294, 298-308, 319-320; skim the rest.
    2. Kemeny 1959: Intro., Ch.5 ("The Method"), Ch. 10 ("What Is Science?")

      Recommended:

    3. Popper 1962, Ch. 1 (esp. pp. 33-59).
    4. Hempel 1966, Ch. 1.
    5. Kyburg 1968, Ch. 1 (esp. pp. 1-7).
    6. Ziman 1968.
    7. Bunge 1974.
    8. Salmon 1984, Ch. 1.
    9. Rosenberg 2000, Ch. 1.

    Topic: What is engineering?

      Required (when available on-line):

    1. Davis 1998: Ch. 1 (pp. 3-17), pp. 25-28, pp. 31-37; skim the rest.

      Recommended:

    2. Bunge 1974, pp. 28-30; skim the rest.
    3. Loui 1987.
    4. Brooks 1996.
    5. Petroski 2003.

  15. Assigned: 15 Jan 04
    Topic:     What is computer science?

    Read all of the following (preferably before the next lecture, since I plan on giving you more to read then:-), slowly (i.e., one sentence at a time) and actively (i.e., think about each sentence; make notes in your Reading Journal). Keep in mind that your main goal in reading these is to look for each author's answer to our question; consequently, at least on a first reading, you don't have to read the "irrelevant" parts quite as carefully. Below, I indicate which parts I think are of central importance for our present purposes and which parts you can just skim (i.e., read quickly):

    I also urge you to at least take a quick glance at the other items at that website.

  16. Assigned: 13 Jan 04
    Topic:     What is philosophy?

    Read at least one of the following:

    1. Woodhouse 2003, Chs. I-III (pp. 1-45).
      • A good intro to what philosophy is all about.

    2. Colburn 2000, Chs. 3-4 (pp. 19-50).
      • A good survey of some of the history of philosophy that is relevant to CS.

    3. Plato, The Apology
      • Various versions on-line
      • Plato's explanation of what Socrates thought philosophy was all about; a good intro to the skeptical, questioning nature of philosophy.

    4. Audi, Robert (2001), "Philosophy: A Brief Guide for Undergraduates" (American Philosophical Association).
      • A good brief intro to what philosophy is and what its branches are.


Copyright © 2004 by William J. Rapaport (rapaport@cse.buffalo.edu)
file: 510/readings-2004-04-06.html