Victor Ivanovich Shestakov (Russian: ) (1907–1987) was a
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
/
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
logician
Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premises ...
and theoretician of
electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
. In 1935 he discovered the possible interpretation of
Boolean algebra
In mathematics and mathematical logic, Boolean algebra is a branch of algebra. It differs from elementary algebra in two ways. First, the values of the variables are the truth values ''true'' and ''false'', usually denoted 1 and 0, whereas in e ...
of logic in electro-mechanical relay circuits. He graduated from
Moscow State University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
(1934) and worked there in the General Physics Department almost until his death.
Shestakov proposed a theory of electric switches based on
Boolean logic
In mathematics and mathematical logic, Boolean algebra is a branch of algebra. It differs from elementary algebra in two ways. First, the values of the variable (mathematics), variables are the truth values ''true'' and ''false'', usually denote ...
earlier than
Claude Shannon
Claude Elwood Shannon (April 30, 1916 – February 24, 2001) was an American people, American mathematician, electrical engineering, electrical engineer, and cryptography, cryptographer known as a "father of information theory".
As a 21-year-o ...
(according to certification of Soviet logicians and mathematicians
Sofya Yanovskaya
Sofya Aleksandrovna Yanovskaya (also Janovskaja; russian: Софи́я Алекса́ндровна Яно́вская; 31 January 1896 – 24 October 1966) was a Soviet mathematician and historian, specializing in the history of mathematics, math ...
, M. G. Gaaze-Rapoport,
Roland Dobrushin
Roland Lvovich Dobrushin (russian: Рола́нд Льво́вич Добру́шин) (July 20, 1929 – November 12, 1995) was a mathematician who made important contributions to probability theory, mathematical physics, and information theory. ...
,
Oleg Lupanov
Oleg Borisovich Lupanov (russian: Оле́г Бори́сович Лупа́нов; 2 June 1932 – 3 May 2006) was a Soviet and Russian mathematician, dean of the Moscow State University's Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics (1980–2006), he ...
, Yu. A. Gastev, Yu. T. Medvedev, and
Vladimir Andreevich Uspensky
Vladimir Andreyevich Uspensky (Russian: Влади́мир Андре́евич Успе́нский; 27 November 1930 – 27 June 2018) was a Russian mathematician, linguist, writer, doctor of physics and mathematics (1964). He was the author of n ...
), though Shestakov and Shannon defended Theses the same year (1938) and the first publication of Shestakov's result took place only in 1941 (in Russian).
In the early 20th century, relay circuits began to be more widely used in automatics, defense of electric and communications systems. Every relay circuit schema for practical use was a distinct invention, because the general principle of simulation of these systems was not known. Shestakov's credit (and independently later Claude Shannon's) is the general theory of logical simulation, inspired by the rapidly increasing complexity of technical demands. Logical simulation requires solid mathematical foundations. Namely these foundations were originally established by Shestakov.
Shestakov set forth an algebraic logic model of electrical two-pole switches (later three- and four-pole switches) with series and parallel connections of schematic elements (resistors, capacitors, magnets, inductive coils, etc.). Resistance of these elements could take arbitrary values on the real-number line, and upon the two-element set this degenerates into the bivalent Boolean algebra of logic.
Shestakov may be considered as a forerunner of combinatorial logic and its application (and, hence, Boolean algebra of logic as well) in electric engineering, the 'language' of which is broad enough to simulate non-electrical objects of any conceivable physical nature. He was a pioneer of study of merged continual algebraic logic (parametrical) and topological (structural) models.
See also
*
List of pioneers in computer science
*
Boolean differential calculus
References
* Shestakov, V. I. Algebra of Two Poles Schemata (Algebra of A-Schemata). In:
Automatics and Telemechanics
''Automation and Remote Control'' (russian: italic=yes, Автоматика и Телемеханика, translit=Avtomatika i Telemekhanika) is a Russian scientific journal published by MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica Press and distributed in English ...
, 1941, N 2, p. 15 – 24 (Russian)
* Shestakov, V. I. Algebra of Two Poles Schemata (Algebra of A-Schemata).In: Journal of Technical Physics, 1941, Vol. 11, N 6. p. 532 – 549 (Russian)
* Bazhanov, V. A., Volgin, L. I. V. I. Shestakov and C. Shannon: the Fate of One Brilliant Idea. In: Scientific and Technical Kaleidoscope, 2001, N2, pp. 43 – 48. (Russian)
* Bazhanov, V. A.
''V. I. Shestakov and C. Shannon: Different Fates of One Brilliant Idea Architects'' In: Problems of History of Science and Technology, 2005, N 2, pp. 112– 121. (Russian)
* Bazhanov, V. A. ''History of Logic in Russia and the USSR''. Moscow, Kanon+, 2007. (Russian)
* Gaaze-Rapoport, M. G. The Making of Cybernetics in the USSR. In: Cybernetics: Past for the Future. Moscow, 1989, pp. 46–85. (Russian)
* Gastev Yu. A., Medvedev, Yu. T. Some Problems of Electric Circuits. In: History of Russian Mathematics. Kiev, 1970, Vol. 2, pp. 443 – 446. (Russian)
* Dobrushin, R. L., Lupanov, O. B. Preface to the book: Shannon, C. Works of the Theory of Information and Cybernetics. Moscow, 1963, pp. 9. (Russian)
* Yanovskaya S. A. Mathematical Logic and Foundation of Mathematics. In: Mathematics in the USSR During Last 40 Years. Moscow, 1959, Vol. 1, pp. 13 – 120. (Russian)
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shestakov, Victor Ivanovich
1907 births
1987 deaths
Mathematical logicians
Soviet electrical engineers
Moscow State University alumni
Soviet mathematicians