George Boole: Google pays homage to 19th century mathematician

George Boole is responsible for laying the foundation for the information age

 

GOOGLE have marked the birth date of 19th century English mathematician, George Boole.

 

Heralded as the father of the information age, George Boole is most famous for devising a system of logic which laid the foundations for the information age. 

The Lincolnshire-born mathematician created Boolean logic, a theory of mathematics in which all variables are either "true" or "false", or "on" or "off".

The theory preceded the digital age, with American Claude Shannon applying Boolean logic to build the electrical circuits in the 1930s that led to modern computers.

The first "g", the two "o"s, the "l" and "e" in the Google logo light up based on the logic gates underneath them.

When the "x" and "y" in the second "g" light up, they are on, activating other letters at different times.

 

Portrait of mathematician, George Boole

For example, when both x and y are on, the first "g" (x AND y) and the second "o" (x OR y) light up.

The "XOR" gate that activates the first "o" is known as an "Exclusive OR" gate, meaning it only turns on when one and only one of x or y are true.

Nowadays, this logic underpins all digital devices, existing in almost every line of computer code, and has transformed the way we live our lives.

George Boole's greatest work came in his book, 'The Laws of Thought' which was published in 1854 while he was working as a professor at University College Cork in Ireland, a position he held till his death on 8 December, 1864.