politicus

The first half of our Alan Turing Centenary lecture series is over, and we've got all three of our talks up on mathtube.org.  You can skip the first one, it's pretty boring, but Mike Williams on early computers and John Ferris on Turing and WWII codebreaking are well worth your time!

The first half of our Alan Turing Centenary lecture series is over, and we've got all three of our talks up on mathtube.org.  You can skip the first one, it's pretty boring, but Mike Williams on early computers and John Ferris on Turing and WWII codebreaking are well worth your time!

It's Alan Turing's centenary, and we've been celebrating it at the University of Calgary with a series of lectures.  This term, we've had a talk on the decision problem, one (by Mike Williams) on Turing and early electronic comupters, and one coming up on March 27, by John Ferris, on Alan Turing and codebreaking in WWII.  Yesterday, we screened the biopic Breaking the Code, with Derek Jacobi as Alan Turing (which you can watch on YouTube in its entirety!). The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences is paying to have the lectures videotaped and the'll be appearing on mathtube.org as they become available.  The lecture by my distinguised colleague in the Computer Science department, Mike Williams, was just posted a couple of days ago.  Mike is a former President of the IEEE Computer Society, editor in chief of the Annals of the History of Computing, and head curator for the Computer History Museum.  So he knows his history of computing machinery, and gave us a wonderful talk about Turing's role in the development of early digital computers.  (There's also a lecture by me on the 1936 paper, but that's much less interesting.) Thanks to generous funding from the Faculty of Science, we also have nice posters, like the one below, advertising our last talk for the Winter term, by my distinguished colleague in the History Department, John R. Ferris. 

It's Alan Turing's centenary, and we've been celebrating it at the University of Calgary with a series of lectures.  This term, we've had a talk on the decision problem, one (by Mike Williams) on Turing and early electronic comupters, and one coming up on March 27, by John Ferris, on Alan Turing and codebreaking in WWII.  Yesterday, we screened the biopic Breaking the Code, with Derek Jacobi as Alan Turing (which you can watch on YouTube in its entirety!). The Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences is paying to have the lectures videotaped and the'll be appearing on mathtube.org as they become available.  The lecture by my distinguised colleague in the Computer Science department, Mike Williams, was just posted a couple of days ago.  Mike is a former President of the IEEE Computer Society, editor in chief of the Annals of the History of Computing, and head curator for the Computer History Museum.  So he knows his history of computing machinery, and gave us a wonderful talk about Turing's role in the development of early digital computers.  (There's also a lecture by me on the 1936 paper, but that's much less interesting.) Thanks to generous funding from the Faculty of Science, we also have nice posters, like the one below, advertising our last talk for the Winter term, by my distinguished colleague in the History Department, John R. Ferris. 

Been waiting a while for this to become official, which it now is: we're hiring. In case you don't know, the CRC program is Canada's effort to attract outstanding foreigntalent to Canada. So there is no preference for Canadians, you get atop-up to your salary, and the teaching load is 1-1. 

Tier I Canada Research Chair in Logic and the Philosophy of Science

The Department of Philosophy at the University of Calgary invites applications and nominations for a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Logic and the Philosophy of Science. The Canada Research Chairs program has been established by the Government of Canada to enable Canadian universities to foster excellence in research and teaching. Further information on the program is available on the CRC website at www.chairs.gc.ca.

We are seeking an established scholar and a leader in any area of logic or the philosophy of science. The successful candidate will have an outstanding record of research, teaching and graduate supervision, and an innovative research program. The appointment, at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor, is expected to start on July 1, 2013.

Specific inquiries about this position may be directed to:

Ali Kazmi, Head Department of Philosophy University of Calgary Email: akazmi@ucalgary.ca

All Chairs are subject to review and final approval by the CRC Secretariat. Applications including a CV, a writing sample, a teaching dossier, and a description of a 7 year research plan, and names and contact information of three referees may be sent to:

Merlette Schnell, Manager Department of Philosophy University of Calgary 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4 CANADA Email: schnell@ucalgary.ca

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Review of the applications will begin on July 9, 2012.

Been waiting a while for this to become official, which it now is: we're hiring. In case you don't know, the CRC program is Canada's effort to attract outstanding foreigntalent to Canada. So there is no preference for Canadians, you get atop-up to your salary, and the teaching load is 1-1. 

Tier I Canada Research Chair in Logic and the Philosophy of Science

The Department of Philosophy at the University of Calgary invites applications and nominations for a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Logic and the Philosophy of Science. The Canada Research Chairs program has been established by the Government of Canada to enable Canadian universities to foster excellence in research and teaching. Further information on the program is available on the CRC website at www.chairs.gc.ca.

We are seeking an established scholar and a leader in any area of logic or the philosophy of science. The successful candidate will have an outstanding record of research, teaching and graduate supervision, and an innovative research program. The appointment, at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor, is expected to start on July 1, 2013.

Specific inquiries about this position may be directed to:

Ali Kazmi, Head Department of Philosophy University of Calgary Email: akazmi@ucalgary.ca

All Chairs are subject to review and final approval by the CRC Secretariat. Applications including a CV, a writing sample, a teaching dossier, and a description of a 7 year research plan, and names and contact information of three referees may be sent to:

Merlette Schnell, Manager Department of Philosophy University of Calgary 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4 CANADA Email: schnell@ucalgary.ca

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Review of the applications will begin on July 9, 2012.

Ruth Barcan Marcus died February 19. She was a towering figure in philosophical logic in the latter half of the 20th century.  She initiated the study of quantified modal logic in her 1946 JSL paper, "A functional calculus of first order based on strict implication".  Facing strong opposition from Quine, who thought quantified modal logic was incoherent, her work was only taken up years later.  It is now recognized as the seminal contribution that it was.

Obituaries:

• Yale Daily News
• The Economist
• New York Times

Tim Williamson's excellent laudatio on the occasion of the award of the Lauener Prize for Outstanding Oevre to Barcan Marcus is here.

Ruth Barcan Marcus died February 19. She was a towering figure in philosophical logic in the latter half of the 20th century.  She initiated the study of quantified modal logic in her 1946 JSL paper, "A functional calculus of first order based on strict implication".  Facing strong opposition from Quine, who thought quantified modal logic was incoherent, her work was only taken up years later.  It is now recognized as the seminal contribution that it was.

Obituaries:

• Yale Daily News
• The Economist
• New York Times

Tim Williamson's excellent laudatio on the occasion of the award of the Lauener Prize for Outstanding Oevre to Barcan Marcus is here.

Ruth Barcan Marcus died February 19. She was a towering figure in philosophical logic in the latter half of the 20th century.  She initiated the study of quantified modal logic in her 1946 JSL paper, "A functional calculus of first order based on strict implication".  Facing strong opposition from Quine, who thought quantified modal logic was incoherent, her work was only taken up years later.  It is now recognized as the seminal contribution that it was.

Obituaries:

• Yale Daily News
• The Economist
• New York Times

Tim Williamson's excellent laudatio on the occasion of the award of the Lauener Prize for Outstanding Oevre to Barcan Marcus is here.

We got a 1-year job for you!

The Department of Philosophy at the University of Calgary invites applications for a one-year postdoctoral fellowship starting on September 1, 2012. The area of specialization is logic or the philosophy of science. The fellow will be expected to have a well-defined research project, teach up to one course each term, and participate in the research activities of the Department. All requirements for the PhD must have been completed by the starting date and no earlier than September 2007. The stipend is $50,000 Canadian per year.

Specific inquiries about this position may be directed to:

Ali Kazmi, Head Department of Philosophy, University of Calgary akazmi@ucalgary.ca

Complete dossiers, including a cv, at least three letters of reference, a recent sample of writing, and a detailed research proposal may be sent to:

Merlette Schnell, Manager Department of Philosophy, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4 CANADA schnell@ucalgary.ca

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Review of the applications will begin on March 22, 2012.

We got a 1-year job for you!

The Department of Philosophy at the University of Calgary invites applications for a one-year postdoctoral fellowship starting on September 1, 2012. The area of specialization is logic or the philosophy of science. The fellow will be expected to have a well-defined research project, teach up to one course each term, and participate in the research activities of the Department. All requirements for the PhD must have been completed by the starting date and no earlier than September 2007. The stipend is $50,000 Canadian per year.

Specific inquiries about this position may be directed to:

Ali Kazmi, Head Department of Philosophy, University of Calgary akazmi@ucalgary.ca

Complete dossiers, including a cv, at least three letters of reference, a recent sample of writing, and a detailed research proposal may be sent to:

Merlette Schnell, Manager Department of Philosophy, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4 CANADA schnell@ucalgary.ca

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled. Review of the applications will begin on March 22, 2012.

Today, we are striking against censorship. Join the largest online protest in history: tell Congress to stop this bill now! Write Congress Now! Not In The US? Petition The State Department. I am writing to you as a voter in your district. I urge you to oppose the Senate version of S. 968, the PROTECT IP Act. The PROTECT IP Act is

The title essay of Quine's The Ways of Paradox was originally published in the Scientific American 206 (April 1962). Retrodigitized back issues of the Scientific American are now available (for free, it seems) on the website of Nature.  You can now read Quine's classic essay in its full original glory, complete with neat illustrations such as this one of the Barber Paradox:

Also cool: vintage ads for nerdy things like scientific instruments, computers, and jobs at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from the 1960's.

Plenty more where that came from, e.g., Tarski's article "Truth and Proof", Nagel and Newman on "Gödel's Proof", Davis and Hersh on "Hilbert's 10th Problem", Paul Cohen and Hersh on "Non-Cantorian Set Theory", and John Hopcroft on "Turing Machines".

The title essay of Quine's The Ways of Paradox was originally published in the Scientific American 206 (April 1962). Retrodigitized back issues of the Scientific American are now available (for free, it seems) on the website of Nature.  You can now read Quine's classic essay in its full original glory, complete with neat illustrations such as this one of the Barber Paradox:

Also cool: vintage ads for nerdy things like scientific instruments, computers, and jobs at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from the 1960's.

Plenty more where that came from, e.g., Tarski's article "Truth and Proof", Nagel and Newman on "Gödel's Proof", Davis and Hersh on "Hilbert's 10th Problem", Paul Cohen and Hersh on "Non-Cantorian Set Theory", and John Hopcroft on "Turing Machines".

The Nation | Nathan Schneider | December 19, 2011 The anarchists’ way of operating was changing our very idea of what politics could be in the first place. This was exhilarating. Some occupiers told me they wanted to take it home with them, to organize assemblies in their own communities. It’s no accident, therefore, that when occupations spread around the country, the horizontal assemblies

Thanks to Daniel Weller

Thanks to Daniel Weller

http://news.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=853671Cut and paste this code, and spread it far and wide as you can.http://news.nana10.co.il/Article/?ArticleID=853671

Ernst Specker died on December 10, in Zurich.  He is most well-known for his work on Quine's New Foundations and the Kochen-Specker Theorem in quantum mechanics. He made significant contributions to many other areas of logic, as well as algebra, topology, and combinatorics.

Specker's MacTutor biography.

Ernst Specker died on December 10, in Zurich.  He is most well-known for his work on Quine's New Foundations and the Kochen-Specker Theorem in quantum mechanics. He made significant contributions to many other areas of logic, as well as algebra, topology, and combinatorics.

Specker's MacTutor biography.