Invited by the Beijing Teenager Science and Technology Club, CSIAM president Pingwen Zhang delivers a Club Scientist Lecture entitled The Evolution of Computing on March 19. The lecture has audience of more than 200 teachers and students from 11 schools.

Pingwen Zhang begins with a few daily matters to show how closely our life is related with computing. Then, he gives a lively introduction of numbers, numeration system, operational symbols, computing tools and computational methods. He also explains the value and beauty of computing. Finally he describes the modes of future computing as well as their impact on human society. Through his lecture, we could realize that computing can help analyze the reason, understand the current situation, and predict the future. The prospective quantum computing and brain-like computing is going to be faster and more intelligent. Computing has become exceptionally universal and critical, and is bound to be more important in the future.

The lecture lasts for 1.5 hours. In the following question-and-answer session, quite a few students raise questions: Could you talk about the origin of 1+1=2?; Will the future machine invent "magnificent" mathematical formula?; Will the applied mathematics problems be extended to pure mathematics?; What's your view on infinity?; What's the human and machine's difference on inspiration?… Pingwen Zhang answers each of them seriously. Finally, he says that only by breaking the stereotyped thinking and opening up new area can science move forward; mathematics is the crown of natural science, while computing is an essential part of mathematics. He encourages the students to learn mathematics and related subjects well, laying a solid foundation for future study and work.

(By CSIAM Office)