Logic Reduction Introduction
Symbolic logic is a unique branch of mathematics that deals with functions or statements which are either true or false. For example, consider the statement that Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. We say that this statement is true. Next, consider the statement that Indian Ocean is the largest ocean in the world. We immediately say that it is false. Thus, as stated previously, symbolic logic makes use of only two states, viz., true and false, for carrying out its mathematical operations. Immediately we recognize that the binary number system, which employs only 0 and 1 as its basic numbers, can be used to represent the symbolic logic system.
The algebra of symbolic logic, known as the Boolean algebra, was formulated by the English mathematician George Boole. In his first book The Mathematical Analysis of Logic, published in 1847, he introduced the basics of symbolic logic. The theory was made more concrete in his book An Investigation into the Laws of Thought, published in 1854. However, this theory remained in a dormant state as a mathematical curiosity for nearly one hundred years. It got rejuvenated only in 1948 when the American electrical engineer Claude Shannon used this mathematical concept to develop his classical theory now known as the Information theory.
Symbolic logic is a unique branch of mathematics that deals with functions or statements which are either true or false. For example, consider the statement that Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. We say that this statement is true. Next, consider the statement that Indian Ocean is the largest ocean in the world. We immediately say that it is false. Thus, as stated previously, symbolic logic makes use of only two states, viz., true and false, for carrying out its mathematical operations. Immediately we recognize that the binary number system, which employs only 0 and 1 as its basic numbers, can be used to represent the symbolic logic system.
The algebra of symbolic logic, known as the Boolean algebra, was formulated by the English mathematician George Boole. In his first book The Mathematical Analysis of Logic, published in 1847, he introduced the basics of symbolic logic. The theory was made more concrete in his book An Investigation into the Laws of Thought, published in 1854. However, this theory remained in a dormant state as a mathematical curiosity for nearly one hundred years. It got rejuvenated only in 1948 when the American electrical engineer Claude Shannon used this mathematical concept to develop his classical theory now known as the Information theory.