Dave Richeson
@divbyzero.bsky.social
Mathematician. John J. & Ann Curley Chair in Liberal Arts at Dickinson College. Author of Tales of Impossibility and Euler's Gem. Coffee drinker. [Everything in the timeline before October 2024 was imported from my Twitter/X feed 2008-24.]
Reposted by Dave Richeson
For what it's worth, I tangled with the same year-of-publication question until I came across this (fascinating!) footnote in Copeland's book "The Essential Turing", and it sounded authoritative enough for me to take it as gospel.
![A footnote from Copeland's book "The Essential Turing". It reads:
"Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society, 42 (1936–7), 230–65. The publication date of ‘On Computable Numbers’ is sometimes cited, incorrectly, as 1937. The article was published in two parts, both parts appearing in 1936. The break between the two parts occurred, rather inelegantly, in the middle of Section 5, at the bottom of p. 240 (p. 67 in the present volume). Pages 230–40 appeared in part 3 of volume 42, issued on 30 Nov. 1936, and the remainder of the article appeared in part 4, issued on 23 Dec. 1936. This information is given on the title pages of parts 3 and 4 of volume 42, which show the contents of each part and their dates of issue. (I am grateful to Robert Soare for sending me these pages. See R. I. Soare, ‘Computability and Recursion’, Bulletin of Symbolic Logic, 2 (1996), 284–321.)
The article was published bearing the information ‘Received 28 May, 1936.—Read 12 November, 1936.’ However, Turing was in the United States on 12 November, having left England in September 1936 for what was to be a stay of almost two years (see the introductions to Chapters 3 and 4). Although papers were read at the meetings of the London Mathematical Society, many of those published in the Proceedings were ‘taken as read’, the author not necessarily being present at the meeting in question. Mysteriously, the minutes of the meeting held on 18 June 1936 list ‘On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungs- problem’ as one of 22 papers taken as read at that meeting. The minutes of an Annual General Meeting held [...]"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:f6tvcgb4p6fmvinz23kus77k/bafkreicnvavdeuakfijlzm5z5t3pv7p6ppou3lohgligl7jumyvi3czwh4@jpeg)
![The continuation of a footnote from Copeland's book "The Essential Turing". It reads:
"[...] on 12 Nov. 1936 contain no reference to the paper. (I am grateful to Janet Foster, Archives Consultant to the London Mathematical Society, for information.)"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:f6tvcgb4p6fmvinz23kus77k/bafkreicbeixwjoo5ceveokhzdu3tw7zqmdmg77l2deuhgqxtkfibr4snda@jpeg)
January 5, 2026 at 11:10 PM
For what it's worth, I tangled with the same year-of-publication question until I came across this (fascinating!) footnote in Copeland's book "The Essential Turing", and it sounded authoritative enough for me to take it as gospel.
Thanks for the information and conversation! The funny thing is, I had 1936 in the blog post. But yesterday, before I shared the link, I went to the journal's website and saw 1937, so I changed it! I appreciate your sleuthing. I'll change it back! londmathsoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
January 6, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Thanks for the information and conversation! The funny thing is, I had 1936 in the blog post. But yesterday, before I shared the link, I went to the journal's website and saw 1937, so I changed it! I appreciate your sleuthing. I'll change it back! londmathsoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
When you open it, it turns into a Mobius band
January 2, 2026 at 12:32 AM
When you open it, it turns into a Mobius band
to gearing choices. So, I've been reading up on gearing concepts and relevant terminology. Very cool stuff! Here's a @geogebra.org applet I made while I was playing around with the concepts. www.geogebra.org/m/bbqgu4ws
December 30, 2025 at 1:43 PM
to gearing choices. So, I've been reading up on gearing concepts and relevant terminology. Very cool stuff! Here's a @geogebra.org applet I made while I was playing around with the concepts. www.geogebra.org/m/bbqgu4ws
There's also this Chuck Close quote, which I've always liked. divisbyzero.com/2011/01/26/i...
Inspiration is for amateurs
I found this fantastic quote by the artist Chuck Close. It was his advice for young artists. However, I think that if you replace artist by researcher,* the same advice applies. I would certainly p…
divisbyzero.com
December 29, 2025 at 10:31 PM
There's also this Chuck Close quote, which I've always liked. divisbyzero.com/2011/01/26/i...
That looks familiar! Here’a a photo I took in Detroit in 2023!
December 28, 2025 at 11:36 PM
That looks familiar! Here’a a photo I took in Detroit in 2023!
identidades y movimientos sociales en seis metrópolis latinoamericanas. p. 264.
December 28, 2025 at 11:32 PM
identidades y movimientos sociales en seis metrópolis latinoamericanas. p. 264.
I’m always skeptical when I see a wise quote by someone famous, but it appears that it does hav a source other than “the internet”: The quote was “La inspiración existe, pero tiene que encontrarte trabajando.”
Source according to Wikiquote: Tomás R. Villasante (1994), Las ciudades hablan:
Source according to Wikiquote: Tomás R. Villasante (1994), Las ciudades hablan:
December 28, 2025 at 11:32 PM
I’m always skeptical when I see a wise quote by someone famous, but it appears that it does hav a source other than “the internet”: The quote was “La inspiración existe, pero tiene que encontrarte trabajando.”
Source according to Wikiquote: Tomás R. Villasante (1994), Las ciudades hablan:
Source according to Wikiquote: Tomás R. Villasante (1994), Las ciudades hablan:
else. Therefore, my baby must be me.”
She explained it twice before I understood. The singer had never learned elementary logic. Neither had I.
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By the way, Cliff Stoll may be best known today for his glass Klein bottles, which he sells at www.kleinbottle.com.
She explained it twice before I understood. The singer had never learned elementary logic. Neither had I.
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By the way, Cliff Stoll may be best known today for his glass Klein bottles, which he sells at www.kleinbottle.com.
Acme Klein Bottle
Acme Klein Bottle makes and sells glass Klein Bottles. Come visit!
www.kleinbottle.com
December 22, 2025 at 12:32 AM
else. Therefore, my baby must be me.”
She explained it twice before I understood. The singer had never learned elementary logic. Neither had I.
-------
By the way, Cliff Stoll may be best known today for his glass Klein bottles, which he sells at www.kleinbottle.com.
She explained it twice before I understood. The singer had never learned elementary logic. Neither had I.
-------
By the way, Cliff Stoll may be best known today for his glass Klein bottles, which he sells at www.kleinbottle.com.
be his own baby."
“Huh?” It sounded fine to me.
“Look. ‘Everybody’ includes my baby. Since ‘Everybody loves my baby,’ then my baby loves herself. Right?”
“Uh, yeah.” I tried to follow.
“But then he says, ‘My baby loves nobody but me.’ So my baby, who must love herself, cannot love anyone
“Huh?” It sounded fine to me.
“Look. ‘Everybody’ includes my baby. Since ‘Everybody loves my baby,’ then my baby loves herself. Right?”
“Uh, yeah.” I tried to follow.
“But then he says, ‘My baby loves nobody but me.’ So my baby, who must love herself, cannot love anyone
December 22, 2025 at 12:32 AM
be his own baby."
“Huh?” It sounded fine to me.
“Look. ‘Everybody’ includes my baby. Since ‘Everybody loves my baby,’ then my baby loves herself. Right?”
“Uh, yeah.” I tried to follow.
“But then he says, ‘My baby loves nobody but me.’ So my baby, who must love herself, cannot love anyone
“Huh?” It sounded fine to me.
“Look. ‘Everybody’ includes my baby. Since ‘Everybody loves my baby,’ then my baby loves herself. Right?”
“Uh, yeah.” I tried to follow.
“But then he says, ‘My baby loves nobody but me.’ So my baby, who must love herself, cannot love anyone
Spencer Williams's 1924 "Everybody Loves My Baby, but My Baby Don't Love Nobody but Me." Here's the excerpt:
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The singer belted out some ‘30s ditty, “Everybody loves my baby, but my baby loves nobody but me.”
“That's absurd,” Martha said between tunes. “Logically analyzed, the singer must
-----
The singer belted out some ‘30s ditty, “Everybody loves my baby, but my baby loves nobody but me.”
“That's absurd,” Martha said between tunes. “Logically analyzed, the singer must
December 22, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Spencer Williams's 1924 "Everybody Loves My Baby, but My Baby Don't Love Nobody but Me." Here's the excerpt:
-----
The singer belted out some ‘30s ditty, “Everybody loves my baby, but my baby loves nobody but me.”
“That's absurd,” Martha said between tunes. “Logically analyzed, the singer must
-----
The singer belted out some ‘30s ditty, “Everybody loves my baby, but my baby loves nobody but me.”
“That's absurd,” Martha said between tunes. “Logically analyzed, the singer must