Researched
Boolean Algebra
George Boole shows that logic can be calculated like algebra with just two values, true and false (1854).
Open in the interactive tree →In The Laws of Thought (1854) Boole turned Aristotle's logic into equations on 0 and 1. In 1937 Claude Shannon showed in his master's thesis that relay and switching circuits obey exactly these rules. Every logic gate in a computer, and the first NP-complete problem (Boolean satisfiability), come from this idea.
Prerequisites
- Philosophy~585 BC
- Zero, Decimals & Algebra~820
Unlocks
- Programmable Computer1941Computer circuits are built from Boolean logic gates
- Information Theory1948Shannon (1937) applied Boole's algebra to switching circuits
- Complexity Theory & NP1971Cook's first NP-complete problem is Boolean satisfiability