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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was the intent of the Principia Mathematica?
(a) To prove or disprove quantum consciousness.
(b) To prove or disprove any statement.
(c) To disprove the theory of relativity.
(d) To confirm the theory of gravity.

2. Who first thought of constructing a machine that could calculate logarithms?
(a) Galileo.
(b) Issac Newton.
(c) John Napier.
(d) Charles Babbage.

3. What did the written language provide that helped to progress the intellect of mankind?
(a) Permanence.
(b) Books.
(c) Education.
(d) Records.

4. In the prologue to "The Information", what year does Gleick identify as a crucial year in the history of information and computing?
(a) 1955.
(b) 1932.
(c) 1961.
(d) 1948.

5. What word book by James Murray was first published in 1879?
(a) Oxford English Dictionary.
(b) The Birth of Writing.
(c) The First Language.
(d) A Table Alphabeticall.

Short Answer Questions

1. Seventeenth numerical tables were set up so that what factor could be learned about each number?

2. The early telegraph had trouble functioning under what conditions?

3. What machine was constructed by Charles Babbage?

4. What theory was not only useful in practical communications, but had applications in psychology, biology, and physics?

5. While working on plans for this "analytical engine," Babbage struck an acquaintance with what individual?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were the two stages of a "bit" as conceived by Claude Shannon?

2. How did the development of the written language assist Greek philosophers in advancing mankind?

3. After the use of pictures, what were the next two stages of language development?

4. What was the purpose of Cawdrey's wordbook, "A Table Alphabeticall?"

5. While Shannon worked on secret cryptography projects for the US government during World War II, what theory about information did he conceive?

6. What technological breakthrough resulted from Claude Shannon's theories and work?

7. By the 1930s the telephone had replace the telegraph as the most advanced means of communication. What advantages did the telephone have over the telegraph?

8. What culture developed the earliest known method of writing language with the use of pictures to represent things?

9. Who invented the "first" telegraph?

10. What did Claude Shannon create from examining the statistical makeup of the English language?

(see the answer keys)

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