Language and the Rise of the Algorithm

“Language and the Rise of the Algorithm is an original and insightful, not to mention magisterial, work. Jeffrey M. Binder’s mastery of startlingly diverse sources—philosophical, mathematical, and literary—spread over four centuries is enormously impressive. His command of scholarly fields ranging from Renaissance theories of language to modern computer science is both broad and deep, and his knowledge of the lives and thought of dozens of characters, some famous, others less so, is nothing less than encyclopedic. Most critically, however, the book’s argument is both timely and compelling. In an age when boundaries between human and machine are tested as never before, Binder offers an insightful analysis of the present moment and a powerful narrative of how we got to this point.” -- Amir Alexander, University of California, Los Angeles “In order to better understand—and perhaps transform—our understanding of algorithms in the present, Jeffrey M. Binder argues persuasively that we need to reopen historical debates on the relationship between language and symbols. Language and the Rise of the Algorithm is a welcome addition to the history of computing that convincingly demonstrates the line between technical algorithms and their social meanings is, itself, socially constructed.” -- Jessica Otis, George Mason University “Jeffrey M. Binder has written a wonderful, thought-provoking book on the relationship between theories of language and symbolism in mathematics. Language and the Rise of the Algorithm has much to offer to the digital humanities and media studies, but this important work will also be read and studied with interest by historians of science and technology.” -- Alma Steingart, Columbia University