Search
The 1996 Kyoto Prize
1996
11 /11 Mon
Place：Kyoto International Conference Center
The 1996 Kyoto Prize Kyoto Prize Laureates
Lecture topics
Digital Typography
Abstract of the lecture
The appearance of each page in a book is in many ways just as important as the information contained in those pages. An author will take much more pride in an elegant book than in a book that is crudely printed; therefore authors work harder to write a good book when they know that it will be well produced. I started to write a series of books called The Art of Computer Programming in 1962, and the first volumes were published in 1968 and 1969. The high quality of the typography in those volumes was achieved by using machines that were invented in the 19th century. Decades of development had shown how to adapt those machines beautifully to the needs of scientific publishing. But those machines became obsolete during the 1970s, and publishers could no longer afford to match the quality of the 1960s, except in non-mathematical books, because books full of mathematics did not have enough economic clout. Therefore it was impossible for my publishers to make the second edition of my books look like the first. I was discouraged, until I learned that the problem could be solved by computer programming. This lecture describes my 9-year adventure as I developed a way to define the total appearance of a book purely in mathematical terms. As a result of this work, authors can now be sure that their books will never again change when printing technology changes.
Lecture topics
The Making of a Scientist
Abstract of the lecture
|
The power of gene targeting is that the investigator not only chooses which gene to modify, but also has virtually complete control over the way in which that gene's DNA sequence is altered. This technology permits the evaluation of the function of genes in an intact mammal and the systematic dissection of the most complex of biological processes such as development and learning. Because nearly all biological phenomena are mediated by genes, this technology will impact the analysis of all such phenomena in mammals, including the study of cancer, immunology, neurobiology and human congenital disease.
In this lecture, I describe our contribution to the development of this technology and recount a few persona experiences that may have influenced my own development as a scientist.
|
Lecture topics
Tidy Parsimony
Abstract of the lecture
A childhood interest in maps fostered my taste for structure and precision as well as curiosity about the world. Aptitude for mathematics emerged, and a leaning toward language and philosophy. In college I majored in mathematics with honors reading in mathematical logic. This subject was offbeat in America, but later gained glory through G?del's theorem and computer theory. I revealed in the rigor and economy of Whitehead and Russell's reduction of mathematics to a few symbols of logic and set theory. I even enhanced it, as had Tarski and G?del. Besides reducing concepts by definitions, Whitehead and Russell reduced theory to axioms. Contradiction then threatened, in Russell's paradox of the class of all non-self-members. His solution involved complicating the grammar and infinitely reduplicating the objects of mathematics. I freed his solution from these drawbacks. This strengthened the system, again threatening contradiction. None has been found. The paradoxes and G?del's theorem reveal the power of classes, in contrast to elementary logic. It is misleading to say mathematics reduces to logic. Say to logic and set theory. Some balk at assuming classes and other abstract objects. But what does assuming an object consist in? Not in direct specification, but in repeated reference to an unspecified object of a specified sort. This lends structure to science. Science needs classes but no properties or meanings. These are in trouble over identity and difference. As my logico-mathematical concerns rounded off in middle life, my attention turned more to the philosophy of natural science. But tidy parsimony is a beacon for natural science as well, and for its philosophy.
