This book is a combination of the subject matter and outlooks of
various disciplines. It seeks to explain a technical subject (digital
computers and computer programming) in a historical light， call-
ing upon the history of philosophical as well as technological
ideas and going as far back as the Greeks. This seems an odd
thing to do. It seems odd precisely because of that widely recog-
nized and still dangerous split in our intellectual life--the gulf
between the sciences and the humanities. Scientists， including
applied scientists and engineers， know very little history or phi-
losophy. Those in the humanities generally learn as little science
as they ~ua get away with. Many attempts have been made to
bridge the gap， and this book can be read as one of them. I have
chosen to write about computers because these machines should
and， I think， will provide the sturdiest bridge between the world
of science and the traditional worlds of philosophy， history， and
art. The computer is a medium of communication as well as a
scientific tool， and it can be used by humanists as well as scien-
tists. It brings concepts of physics， mathematics， and logic into
the humanist s world as no previous machine has done. Yet it can
also serve to carry artistic and philosophical thinking into the sci-
entific community. I am trying， in other words， to recognize and
foster a process of cross-fertilization that has already begun.
In order to address scientists， engineers， and humanists， I must
cover ground that is familiar to each group. My explanation of the
computer is far too general to please the computer specialist， but
I need to give the nonspecialist some idea of how the machine
works in order to explain its impact on our culture. Readers with
a background in classical and European philosophy and literature
will probably quarrel with my many generalizations about \"the
Greek\" or \"the Western European\" mind. Again I have to be
general， for I need to introduce a wide range of topics in order to
map out the areas of history and philosophy to which the com-
puter is relevant. The reader may come to his own conclusions
about the importance of pottery in the Greek world or that of the
steam engine in the nineteenth century. He may argue that the
idea of infinity is as important for philosophy and art today as it
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