Observations Concerning Computation, Deduction, and Heuristics

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses that a given system of notation makes allowance for the expression of certain specific concepts, and to what extent. It also describes which system of notation is the most convenient one for a certain specific purpose. It leads to the development of a theory of definition, the importance of which seems to be theoretical rather than practical. The theory of definition has a certain practical importance because of its connections with the theory of deduction. Logic is primarily concerned with the study of deduction. Numerical computation is represented in the more familiar formal systems as deduction on the basis of a suitable axiom system for arithmetic. The possibility of an automatic treatment of a class C of deduction problems depends, in the first place, upon its critical number.