Charles Leonard Hamblin
Encyclopedia
Charles Leonard Hamblin (1922 – 14 May 1985) was an Australia
n philosopher, logician, and computer pioneer, as well as a professor of philosophy at the Technical University of New South Wales (now the University of New South Wales
) in Sydney
.
Among his most well-known achievements in the area of computer science
was the introduction (some sources would say invention) of the Reverse Polish Notation
and the invention of the stack
in computing. This was arguably independent of, and at nearly the same time as, the work of Friedrich Ludwig Bauer
and Klaus Samelson
on the invention of the push-pop stack. Hamblin's most well-known contribution to philosophy is his book Fallacies, a standard work in the area of the false conclusions in logic.
and attained a doctorate in 1957 at the London School of Economics
. From 1955 up to his death, he was a professor of philosophy at the University of New South Wales.
In the second half of the 1950s, he worked with the third computer available in Australia, a copy of the DEUCE
computer by the English Electric company. For the DEUCE, Hamblin sketched one of the first programming languages, GEORGE, which was based on Reverse Polish Notation. He also created the associated compiler (language translator), which translated the programs formulated in GEORGE into the machine language of the computer.
Hamblin's work is considered to be the first to use reverse Polish notation, and this is why he is called an inventor of this representation method. Regardless of whether Hamblin independently invented the notation and its usage, he showed the merit, service, and advantage of the Reverse Polish way of writing programs for the processing on programmable computers and algorithms to make it happen.
The second direct result of his work with the development of compilers was the concept of the push-pop stack, which Hamblin developed independently of Friedrich Ludwig Bauer and Klaus Samelson, and for which in 1957 he was granted a patent for the use of a push-pop stack for the translation by programming languages. In the same year, 1957, Hamblin presented his stack concept at the first Australian Computer Conference. Hamblin's work had an impact on the development of stack-based computers, their machine instructions, their arguments on a stack, and reference addresses.
Into the 1960s, Hamblin again increasingly turned to philosophical questions. Besides writing an influential introductory book into the formal logic
which is today a standard work on fallacies
. It dedicated itself to the treatment of false conclusions by the traditional logic and brought in it formal dialectic and developed it further. As such, Hamblin is considered as one the founders of the modern informal logic.
Hamblin contributed to the development of modern temporal logic
in two ways. In its very early period he corresponded with Arthur Prior
between 1958 and 1965; this collaboration culminated with the so-called Hamblin implications. Later in 1972 Hamblin independently rediscovered a form of duration calculus
(interval logic), without being aware of the 1947 work of A. G. Walker on this topic, who was not interested in the tense aspect. Hamblin's duration calculus is very similar to that later developed by James Allen
and Patrick J. Hayes
in mid 1980s.
In addition to ancient Greek, Hamblin was familiar with several Asian and Pacific languages. A classical music lover who played the piano, Hamblin was setting words of Wittgenstein to music while hospitalized with an affliction that proved fatal.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n philosopher, logician, and computer pioneer, as well as a professor of philosophy at the Technical University of New South Wales (now the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
) in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
Among his most well-known achievements in the area of computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
was the introduction (some sources would say invention) of the Reverse Polish Notation
Reverse Polish notation
Reverse Polish notation is a mathematical notation wherein every operator follows all of its operands, in contrast to Polish notation, which puts the operator in the prefix position. It is also known as Postfix notation and is parenthesis-free as long as operator arities are fixed...
and the invention of the stack
Stack (data structure)
In computer science, a stack is a last in, first out abstract data type and linear data structure. A stack can have any abstract data type as an element, but is characterized by only three fundamental operations: push, pop and stack top. The push operation adds a new item to the top of the stack,...
in computing. This was arguably independent of, and at nearly the same time as, the work of Friedrich Ludwig Bauer
Friedrich L. Bauer
Friedrich Ludwig Bauer is a German computer scientist and professor emeritus at Technical University of Munich.-Life:...
and Klaus Samelson
Klaus Samelson
Klaus Samelson was a German mathematician, physicist, and computer pioneer in the area of programming language translation and push-pop stack algorithms for sequential formula translation on computers.- Early life :...
on the invention of the push-pop stack. Hamblin's most well-known contribution to philosophy is his book Fallacies, a standard work in the area of the false conclusions in logic.
Career and life
After the Second World War and the radar service at the Australian Air Force was interrupted, he studied mathematics, physics, and philosophy at the University of MelbourneUniversity of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
and attained a doctorate in 1957 at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
. From 1955 up to his death, he was a professor of philosophy at the University of New South Wales.
In the second half of the 1950s, he worked with the third computer available in Australia, a copy of the DEUCE
English Electric DEUCE
The DEUCE was one of the earliest British commercially available computers, built by English Electric from 1955.It was the production version of the Pilot ACE, itself a cut down version of Alan Turing's ACE....
computer by the English Electric company. For the DEUCE, Hamblin sketched one of the first programming languages, GEORGE, which was based on Reverse Polish Notation. He also created the associated compiler (language translator), which translated the programs formulated in GEORGE into the machine language of the computer.
Hamblin's work is considered to be the first to use reverse Polish notation, and this is why he is called an inventor of this representation method. Regardless of whether Hamblin independently invented the notation and its usage, he showed the merit, service, and advantage of the Reverse Polish way of writing programs for the processing on programmable computers and algorithms to make it happen.
The second direct result of his work with the development of compilers was the concept of the push-pop stack, which Hamblin developed independently of Friedrich Ludwig Bauer and Klaus Samelson, and for which in 1957 he was granted a patent for the use of a push-pop stack for the translation by programming languages. In the same year, 1957, Hamblin presented his stack concept at the first Australian Computer Conference. Hamblin's work had an impact on the development of stack-based computers, their machine instructions, their arguments on a stack, and reference addresses.
Into the 1960s, Hamblin again increasingly turned to philosophical questions. Besides writing an influential introductory book into the formal logic
Formal logic
Classical or traditional system of determining the validity or invalidity of a conclusion deduced from two or more statements...
which is today a standard work on fallacies
Fallacy
In logic and rhetoric, a fallacy is usually an incorrect argumentation in reasoning resulting in a misconception or presumption. By accident or design, fallacies may exploit emotional triggers in the listener or interlocutor , or take advantage of social relationships between people...
. It dedicated itself to the treatment of false conclusions by the traditional logic and brought in it formal dialectic and developed it further. As such, Hamblin is considered as one the founders of the modern informal logic.
Hamblin contributed to the development of modern temporal logic
Temporal logic
In logic, the term temporal logic is used to describe any system of rules and symbolism for representing, and reasoning about, propositions qualified in terms of time. In a temporal logic we can then express statements like "I am always hungry", "I will eventually be hungry", or "I will be hungry...
in two ways. In its very early period he corresponded with Arthur Prior
Arthur Prior
Arthur Norman Prior was a noted logician and philosopher. Prior founded tense logic, now also known as temporal logic, and made important contributions to intensional logic, particularly in Prior .-Biography:Prior was entirely educated in New Zealand, where he was fortunate to have come under the...
between 1958 and 1965; this collaboration culminated with the so-called Hamblin implications. Later in 1972 Hamblin independently rediscovered a form of duration calculus
Duration Calculus
Duration calculus is an interval logic for real-time systems. It was originally developed by Zhou Chaochen with the help of Anders P. Ravn and C. A. R. Hoare on the European ESPRIT Basic Research Action ProCoS project on Provably Correct Systems.DC is mainly useful at the requirements level of...
(interval logic), without being aware of the 1947 work of A. G. Walker on this topic, who was not interested in the tense aspect. Hamblin's duration calculus is very similar to that later developed by James Allen
James Allen
James, Jim, or Jimmy Allen may refer to:*James Allen , American football linebacker*James Allen , American football running back...
and Patrick J. Hayes
Patrick J. Hayes
Patrick John Hayes or Pat Hayes is a British computer scientist who lives and works in the United States. , he is a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola, Florida. He received a B.A. in Mathematics from University of Cambridge and a Ph.D...
in mid 1980s.
In addition to ancient Greek, Hamblin was familiar with several Asian and Pacific languages. A classical music lover who played the piano, Hamblin was setting words of Wittgenstein to music while hospitalized with an affliction that proved fatal.
Monographs
- Fallacies. Methuen London 1970, ISBN 0-416-14570-1 and ISBN 0-416-70070-5 (paperback), new edition of 2004 with Vale press, ISBN 0916475247 (paperback) - even today a standard work to the topic
- Elementary formal Logic: Programmed Course. Methuen London 1967, ISBN 0-416-69820-4
- Imperatives. Blackwell Oxford 1987, ISBN 0-631-15193-1
- Language and the Theory of Information. Ph.D. Thesis, Logic and Scientific Method Programme, University of London, London, UK. Submitted October 1956, awarded 1957.
Influential articles
- Translation to and from polish notation. The computer journal 5/3, October 1962, P. 210-213
- An Addressless Coding Scheme based on Mathematical notation. W.R.E. Conference on Computing, proceedings, Salisbury: Weapons Research establishment 1957
- GEORGE, an Addressless Coding Scheme for DEUCE. Australian national Committee on Computation and Automatic Control, Summarized Proceedings of First Conference, paper C6.1, 1960
- Computer Languages. The Australian journal of Science 20, P. 135-139. Reprinted in The Australian Computer Journal 17/4, P. 195-198 (November 1985)
Publications
- C. L. Hamblin [1957]: An addressless coding scheme based on mathematical notation. Proceedings of the First Australian Conference on Computing and Data Processing, Salisbury, South Australia: Weapons Research Establishment, June 1957.
- C. L. Hamblin [1957]: Computer Languages. The Australian Journal of Science, 20: 135-139. Reprinted in The Australian Computer Journal, 17(4): 195-198 (November 1985).
- C. L. Hamblin [1957]: Review of: W. R. Ashby: Introduction to Cybernetics. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 35.
- C. L. Hamblin [1958]: Questions. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 36(3): 159-168.
- C. L. Hamblin [1958]: Review of: Time and Modality, by A. N. Prior. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 36: 232-234.
- C. L. Hamblin [1958]: Surprises, innovations and probabilities. Proceedings of the ANU Symposium on Surprise, Canberra, July 1958.
- C. L. Hamblin [1958]: Review of: Formal Analysis of Normative Systems, by A. R. Anderson. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 36.
- C. L. Hamblin [1958]: GEORGE Programming Manual. Duplicated, 1958. Revised and enlarged, 1959.
- C. L. Hamblin [1959]: The Modal "Probably". Mind, New Series, 68: 234-240.
- C. L. Hamblin [1962]: Translation to and from Polish notation. Computer Journal, 5: 210-213.
- C. L. Hamblin [1963]: Questions aren't statements. Philosophy of Science, 30(1): 62-63.
- R. J. Gillings and C. L. Hamblin [1964]: Babylonian reciprocal tables on UTECOM. Technology, 9 (2): 41-42, August 1964. An expanded version appeared in Australian Journal of Science, 27, 1964.
- C. L. Hamblin [1964]: Has probability any foundations? Proceedings of the Symposium on Probability of the Statistical Society of New South Wales, May 1964. Reproduced in Science Yearbook, University of New South Wales, Sydney, 1964.
- C. L. Hamblin [1964]: Review of: Communication: A Logical Model, by D. Harrah. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 42.
- C. L. Hamblin [1964]: Review of: Analysis of Questions, by N. D. Belnap. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 42.
- C. L. Hamblin [1965]: Review of: A Preface to the Logic of Science, by P. Alexander. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 15(60): 360-362.
- C. L. Hamblin [1966]: Elementary Formal Logic, a Programmed Course. (Sydney: Hicks Smith). Republished by Methuen, in London, UK, 1967. Also translated into Swedish by J. Mannerheim, under the title: Element"ar Logik, ein programmerad kurs. (Stockholm: Laromedelsf"orlagen, 1970).
- C. L. Hamblin [1967]: One-valued logic. Philosophical Quarterly, 17: 38-45.
- C. L. Hamblin [1967]: Questions, logic of. Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (New York: Collier Macmillan).
- C. L. Hamblin [1967]: An algorithm for polynomial operations. Computer Journal, 10.
- C. L. Hamblin [1967]: Review of: New Approaches to the Logical Theory of Interrogatives, by L. Aqvist. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 44.
- C. L. Hamblin [1969]: Starting and stopping. The Monist, 53: 410-425.
- C. L. Hamblin [1970]: Fallacies. London, UK: Methuen.
- C. L. Hamblin [1970]: The effect of when it's said. Theoria, 36: 249-264.
- C. L. Hamblin [1971]: Mathematical models of dialogue. Theoria, 37: 130-155.
- C. L. Hamblin [1971]: Instants and intervals. Studium Generale, 24: 127-134.
- C. L. Hamblin [1972]: You and I. Analysis, 33: 1-4.
- C. L. Hamblin [1972]: Quandaries and the logic of rules. Journal of Philosophical Logic, 1: 74-85.
- C. L. Hamblin [1973]: Questions in Montague English. Foundations of Language, 10: 41-53.
- C. L. Hamblin [1973]: A felicitous fragment of the predicate calculus. Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic. 14: 433-446.
- C. L. Hamblin [1974]: La logica dell'iniziare e del cessare. Italian translation by C. Pizzi of an unpublished article: The logic of starting and stopping. Pages 295-317 in: C. Pizzi (Editor): La Logica del Tempo. Torino: Bringhieri.
- C. L. Hamblin [1975]: Creswell's colleague TLM. Nous, 9(2): 205-210.
- C. L. Hamblin [1975]: Saccherian arguments and the self-application of logic. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 53: 157-160.
- C. L. Hamblin [1976]: An improved "Pons Asinorum"? Journal of the History of Philosophy, 14: 131-136.
- C. L. Hamblin [1984]: Languages of Asia and the Pacific: A Phrasebook for Travellers and Students. (North Ryde, NSW: Angus and Robertson).
- C. L. Hamblin [1987]: Imperatives. Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell.
- C. L. Hamblin and P. J. Staines [1992]: An extraordinarily simple theory of the syllogism. Logique et Analyse, 35: 81.