Item #1686 How Babbage’s Dream Came True (Wilkes, 541-544) WITH The Credibility of Machine Intelligence (Ullmann, 547-549 in Nature, Vol 211, Issue 5527, October 16, 1975 [Includes Nature’s Computer Supplement Issue]. Maurice V. WITH J. R. Ullmann Wilkes.

How Babbage’s Dream Came True (Wilkes, 541-544) WITH The Credibility of Machine Intelligence (Ullmann, 547-549 in Nature, Vol 211, Issue 5527, October 16, 1975 [Includes Nature’s Computer Supplement Issue]

1975. 1st Edition. Complete 1st edition issue in original wraps inclusive of a paper on Babbage by a computer scientist who shepherded some of Babbage’s unrealized machines into fruition, as well as another paper that is a foundational critique of early AI models



WILKES: 1st ed. in original wraps of a paper on Charles Babbage that connects the conceptual roots of computing with the 20th century technological and practical realization of that vision. The article is written by Sir Maurice Wilkes, the pioneering British computer scientist who realized Charles Babbagte’s theoretical vision by building the EDSAC 1949), the world's first practical, full-scale, stored-program electronic computer.



Babbage’s “dream”—a machine capable of automatic calculation and programmability—lay dormant for over a century until digital machines emerged in the 1940s and 1950s. Wilkes describes this long prehistory of computation and underscores how early ideas foreshadowed later breakthroughs in hardware and architecture.



Although Babbage never completed his machines due to technical and financial limitations of his time, his designs (especially the Analytical Engine) anticipated key components of modern computers—such as programmability, separate memory, and sequential control. The article emphasizes the transition from theoretical, mechanical designs to practical, operational computers.



Later computer pioneers, the author among them, built on these ideas when technology finally caught up. Wilkes' article serves as a bridge, linking the foundational ideas of Babbage to the practical realities of early computing development.



ULLMAN: Ullmann’s perspective is considered a foundational critique of artificial intelligence, highlighting the limitations of early AI models. Ullmann argues that programmed computers should not be considered truly intelligent unless they are functionally similar to the human brain, specifically in their use of previous experience to solve problems. He cautions against overusing the term "artificial intelligence," emphasizing that true intelligence involves distinct, parallel, and distributed processes rather than just algorithmic computation.

This issue also contains other papers related to computers, etc. Item #1686

Condition & Details: Entire issue Nature, No. 5527, Vol. 257. 4to. 10.75 x 7.75 inches (268 x 193mm). [ii], 523-630, [ix-xx]. Slight surface wear and aging. Overall, very good condition.

Price: $60.00

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