Building Blocks

The first chapter of “The Pattern on the Stone” the author talks about when he was a kid he constructed a robot with objects but was missing the thinking part of the robot. He had the body but not the brain that moved the body. He called this “computation”. This is what tells the body part to move. He goes into more detail about Boolean logic as a way to help describe the logic of how a robots brain or circuit board would work. With Boolean logic algebra the math statement reads like a = b and that statement can be true or false. Much like choosing which way to drive when there is a fork in the road. The driver has a left and right turn, or with Boolean it a true or a false statement. This Boolean logic can help drive the way that computation is performed and what action to take. The author also built a tic tac toe machine as an extension of this Boolean logic. The player can select a spot to place their “x” and from that placement the logic is run. This is the bases for programing. If a condition is met than do a set of functions and if a condition is not met then do another set of functions.

My personal use of Boolean can set a logic that can run a check to see if the code is working. A fail safe switch that if my code isn’t working then stop the code. Much like a fuse in a circuit box if the amps are too high then the fuse will blow. Not only can Boolean logic used in a condition but it can get the value of two variables and whether they are equal or not equal. This logic I can use to make exact logic that I need in my programing.

The second chapter focuses on the building blocks of coding. With logical functions and finite-state machine the Boolean logic can start to build the computer or computation of the logic in a more complex way. The example that the author uses is LEGOS, these are the structure of the computation. The logic function allows for rules to be set. Rules like “and”, “or”, and “invert” to establish the “behavior” or “action” of the code. While, finite-state machine can be a look up table, with Boolean logic, and with device memory. The finite-state machine is timed varying function that can set in the logic of the computation.

This is used in my daily work as a VR Developer. Specifically, in character behavior and the logic behind the movement of a player in a game. The timing of a finite state machine can plays an animation at a controlled or random point. The logic function is used to check if the code is working properly and gives the game rules to set to build the game logic.

Chapter 3 is about programing and what language to use in writing our computation. To give an example, on a grander scale let’s use a book. The book is written in a language like English. This means that there are a set of rules and characters in order to be consider English. It must have the write font, paragraphs, spelling, and reading structure (reading left to right). The finite-state machine can execute the instructions or computation and the Boolean logic determines the instruction or computation and the programing language executes the instruction computation.

Much of programing I use in my daily life and at work. I write code for my personal projects in Autodesk Maya that are Maya Embedded Language and python. In my professional work I work with Unreal Engine that uses a visual coding system and some in Unity with C++. Like the author of The Pattern on the Stone it starts with an idea to build a robot and logic critical thinking and problem solving come into play. The author was seeking the computation for his robot. Ultimately, he found the building blocks to make the computation for that robot.