Computing, informatics and information theory (Q2785038)

This is a summary of a session of the history of mathematics seminar of the Institut Henri Poincaré held in February 2001. Reflections are given on the theme that the history of computers involves the confluence of science, industry, and the military, as well as mathematics and technology. Amy Dahan-Dalmédico rehearses the rise of computational technology in the Second World War and the following Cold War. The work by Paul N. Edwards on the social history of computers is relied on. Jérôme Ségal discusses some of the roots of Claude Shannon's theory of information and emphasizes that it marked a mathematization of the computational field. The most novel topic is probably that of Pierre Mounier-Kuhn who addresses the question of why France did not contribute to the development of computers and came relatively late to using them. The article contains what appear to be citations of fuller bibliographical references but there is no bibliography.