Alan Turing og informationsteori

Abstract

This paper presents a discussion of Alan Turing’s ideas on computational methods for solving Hilbert’s "Entscheidungsproblem". The computational process is demonstrated by the Turing Machine which is a theoretical machine, a description of how a mathematical problem can be solved by a mech-anical process. The Turing Machine is a universal machine as it can take the set of rules of other machines as input and perform the same computations as these. In this way Turing demonstrates some principles behind the symbolic problem solving process. The same ideas have influenced Niels Ole Finnemann whose ideas on symbol theory are introduced. Touched upon is also Alan Turing’s influence on artificial intelligence which concerns "the thinking machine" and the nature of intelligence.

The relevance of Turing’s ideas for library and information science is discussed from the perspective of the library school curriculum and the scientific mapping of library and information science.