Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!isi.edu!smoliar From: smoliar@isi.edu (Stephen Smoliar) Newsgroups: comp.ai Subject: Re: AI genealogy Message-ID: <17078@venera.isi.edu> Date: 10 Mar 91 01:10:10 GMT References: <5466@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> Reply-To: smoliar@venera.isi.edu (Stephen Smoliar) Organization: Information Sciences Institute, Univ. of So. California Lines: 31 In article velasco@beowulf.ucsd.edu (Gabriel Velasco) writes: >minsky@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Marvin Minsky) writes: > >>I could not possibly be more >>pleased than I am by how much my own students have accomplished, but >>the formal relation of thesis advisor is not a very good indicator of >>the evolution of ideas in the community of international science. > >Actually, this is one of the things that we would like to determine. >Has anyone ever actually proven the last quoted statement? > I'm not sure to what extent you can talk about "proof;" but you can certainly muster evidence. Bertrand Russell was thesis advisor to Ludwig Wittgenstein. The TRACTATUS was the thesis, and it may be viewed as an obedient attempt to continue along Russell's approach to mathematics and logic as embodied in the PRINCIPIA MATHEMATICA. However, by the time Wittgenstein got around to defending it, he already had serious doubts about both its contents and most of what Russell stood for. The rest of his career involved tearing down all that he had received from Russell in matters of logic, semantics, and the foundations of mathematics. Ultimately, Wittgenstein thrived on viewing Russell as his chief antagonist. By the way, as long as we are willing to generalize to "international science," didn't Crick's advisor (Bragg?) keep discouraging him from spending all his time on DNA? -- USPS: Stephen Smoliar 5000 Centinela Avenue #129 Los Angeles, California 90066 Internet: smoliar@venera.isi.edu