From Boolean Algebra to Unified Algebra

Speaker: Eric Hehner

9th February 2006 , 2pm , G21/22 Devonshire Building

Abstract

Boolean algebra is simpler than number algebra, with applications in programming, circuit design, law, specifications, mathematical proof, and reasoning in any domain. So why is number algebra taught in primary school and used routinely by scientists, engineers, economists, and the general public, while boolean algebra is not taught until university, and not routinely used by anyone? A large part of the answer may be in the terminology and symbols used, and in the explanations of boolean algebra found in textbooks. This paper points out some of the problems delaying the acceptance and use of boolean algebra, and suggests some solutions. Biography Hehner received his first degrees in mathematics and physics from Carleton University in 1969, and his PhD in computer science from the University of Toronto in 1974. The subject of his thesis was how to match the representation of data and programs to computer architectures. He then joined the faculty, becoming a full professor in 1983, and Bell University Chair in Software Engineering in 2001. His research has been mainly on the subject of formal programming methods, and the mathematics of program construction. He is the first winner of the annual computer science undergraduate teaching award. He has been a Visiting Scientist at Xerox Research Center, Palo Alto, a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University, a Visiting Researcher at the University of Texas, Austin, a Professeur Invité at the Université de Grenoble, a Visiting Professor at UBC, Vancouver, and at the University of Southampton. He is a member of IFIP Working Group 2.1 on Algorithmic Languages and Calculi, and IFIP Working Group 2.3 on Programming Methodology. He is an editor of Acta Informatica and of Formal Aspects of Computing. He has written two books (the Logic of Programming, Prentice-Hall, 1984, and a Practical Theory of Programming, first edition Springer-Verlag 1993, current edition online) and over fifty journal and conference papers. He has given over a hundred invited lectures at institutions around the world. He has taught short courses in Marktoberdorf Germany, Macau China, Turku Finland, and Tandil Argentina. His former students have gone on to head major corporations and departments of computer science.