Interesting People mailing list archives
Profile of Claude Shannon based on 1989 interview
From: "Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>
Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2017 21:49:21 +0000
---------- Forwarded message --------- From: John Horgan <jhorgan () stevens edu> Date: Wed, Jul 26, 2017 at 5:02 PM Subject: Profile of Claude Shannon based on 1989 interview To: Dave Farber <farber () gmail com>, John Horgan <jhorgan () stevens edu> Dave, I thought your list might be interested in this profile of Claude Shannon, the subject of a new biography. The profile is based on my extended interview with Shannon in 1989 and includes his thoughts about AI. Cheers, John Horgan Profile of Claude Shannon, Inventor of Information Theory Shannon, a pioneer of artificial intelligence, thought machines can think but doubted they "would take over.” Claude Shannon couldn't sit still. We were sitting in the living room of his home north of Boston, an edifice called Entropy House, and I was trying to get him to recall how he came up with the theory of information. Shannon, who is a boyish 73, with a shy grin and snowy hair, was tired of dwelling on his past. He wanted to show me his gadgets. Over the mild protests of his wife, Betty, he leapt from his chair and disappeared into another room. When I caught up with him, he proudly showed me his seven chess-playing machines, gasoline-powered pogo-stick, hundred-bladed jackknife, two-seated unicycle and countless other marvels... The inventor of information theory also invented a rocket-powered Frisbee and a theory of juggling, and he is still remembered at Bell Labs for juggling while riding a unicycle through the halls. “I’ve always pursued my interests without much regard for financial value or value to the world,” Shannon said cheerfully. “I’ve spent lots of time on totally useless things.”... Continue at https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/profile-of-claude-shannon-inventor-of-information-theory/ ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/18849915-ae8fa580 Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-aa268125 Unsubscribe Now: https://www.listbox.com/unsubscribe/?member_id=18849915&id_secret=18849915-32545cb4&post_id=20170726174941:51173074-724C-11E7-8E4A-DD1A66AF46C9 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
Current thread:
- Profile of Claude Shannon based on 1989 interview Dave Farber (Jul 26)