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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who devised a way to multiply and divide numbers by adding or subtracting their logarithms?

2. What did Alan Turing reduce human thought to?

3. What development was the last stage of writing?

4. All known alphabets are based on the original alphabet that emerged about 1500 B.C. in what area?

5. What uses one symbol to represent one "minimal sound"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What innovation was made in the 17th century by Scot mathematician John Napier?

2. While working on plans for this "analytical engine," Babbage struck an acquaintance with what young woman?

3. What innovative device did Charles Babbage design and build?

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

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

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

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

8. Who developed the Principia Mathematica and what did it provide?

9. What are the two "wordbooks" that Gleick refers to in this chapter?

10. How was binary code of 0s and 1s which is the foundation for computing first conceived and by whom?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Norbert Weiner's views on the work and theories of Claude Shannon. Explain the circumstances under which Weiner coined the phrase "cybernetics". What was George Miller's observation on the capacity for the human mind to retain information?

Essay Topic 2

Explain the evolution of the written language and its impact on knowledge sharing. What impact has the Internet had on the transference of information?

Essay Topic 3

Explain why electricity opened up the field of communication? How did the electric telegraph function and why was it superior to the earlier French version? How did the telegraph impact global communications?

(see the answer keys)

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