BASIC FACTS
Many of the mechanical brains described in this book will do good work for years; but their design is already out of date. Many organizations are hard at work finding new tricks in electronics, materials, and engineering and making new mechanical brains that are better and faster.
In spite of future developments, though, the basic facts about mechanical brains will endure. These basic facts are drawn from the principles of thinking, of mathematics, of science, of engineering, etc. These facts govern all handling of information. They do not depend very much on human or mechanical energy. They do not depend very much on signs. They do not depend very much on the century, or the language, or the country. For example, “II et III V sunt,” the Romans may have said; “deux et trois font cinq,” say the French; “2 + 3 = 5,” say the mathematicians; and we say, “two and three make five.” The main effort in this book has been to make clear the basic facts about mechanical brains, for they are now a masterly instrument for obtaining new knowledge.
Edmund Callis Berkeley
New York 11, N. Y.
June 30, 1949