Friday, June 23, 2006

Spotlight
Alan Turing, a pioneer in the world of computers and artificial intelligence, was born on this date in 1912. A cryptanalyst during WWII, Turing devised a machine that decoded enemy transmissions. Before the war he had postulated a universal mathematical machine, now called the Turing Machine, which became a prototype for the electronic computer. His Turing test worked to determine whether a computer is capable of humanlike thought, igniting discussion on artificial intelligence.

Quote
"Machines take me by surprise with great frequency." – Alan Turing

Holiday
Midsummer Eve

Today in History

• Gamal Abdel Nasser: elected president of Egypt (1956)
• Air India flight 182: crashed near Ireland, killing all 329 people aboard, after bomb exploded on board (1985)
• John Gotti: crime boss sentenced to life in prison (1992)

Today's Birthdays

• Wilma Rudolph: first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics (1940-1994)
• Randy Jackson: Idol judge ("Yo, so check it out!") (50)
• Zinedine Zidane: 1998 World Cup MVP (34)

Word of the Day
 algorithm: a step-by-step approach to solving a problem or calculating a task; Alan Turing developed a chess algorithm to use with calculating machines, putting forward his theories on artificial intelligence.   (© )