Security moot point of discussion on fourth day of ongoing science conclave

Updated on: Wednesday, December 12, 2012

On the fourth day of the ongoing Science conclave at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-A) Joseph Sifakis, Greek-French computer scientist, and winner of the 2007 Turing Award said computing had been evolving for the last 79 years, adding that computing and mathematics go hand in hand.

Speaking on 'Computing Foundations, Goals And Challenges' at the conclave on Tuesday, Sifakis talked about evolution of computer science and technology from 1936 to 2015. He initiated his speech by detailing the evolution of computing through the decades.

He said people focused on the theory of computation in the early 1930s and in the '40s, trend of electronic computers was set. He said in early '30s, Mathematics Logic was mapped to Algorithms where as in the '40s hard driven computation gave way to computers. According to him, computing is considered applied technology of Mathematics, Electrical Engineering or Science. Over the years computing evolved with Algorithms, Networks, Operating Systems, Databases, Compilers, etc. (1930's); Automatic Computing (1940s); Information Processing (1950s) and Computation (1990s). He said, 'Understanding the nature of complex things by reducing them to interactions, or to simpler or more fundamental things' was the definition.

Talking about his achievements, he said as a young researcher he realised the importance of computation was overlooked and underestimated and found that word processing was an emergent property of computers. He segmented his entire discussion into basic questions related to computing, science, engineering, information etc.

He made an interesting point terming computers dumb terming them as machines that execute exactly what they are instructed to. "Minds can make errors due to misinterpretation and machines can only fail."

In the morning session, Nobel winner E Neher said brain is a network of 1,012 neurons, each of which is connected with thousands of other cells by synapses. Each neuron (A neuron also known as a neuron or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information through electrical and chemical signals) and receives input at its dendrites from thousands of other neurons. Focus was on how brain works and sensory memory interacts with brain. Saying that brain is a complex non-linear system, he played a video clip based on neural network and compared brain with a modern computer distinguished by a number of transitions and computational cycles per sec. He said main difference between computer and brain was that connections within the brain were plastic. At the end of the session B R Singh felicitated the Nobel laureate.

Addressing the interactive session, another Nobel laureate Klaus von Klitzing explained the difference between classical and quantum physics.

An engaging discussion began when Klitzing raising the moot point that with surveillance being increased, there is risk to privacy and this triggered a series of questions from students on the topic of security.

Dr Anish Arora spoke on other aspects of security besides privacy and confidentiality, discussing integrity, internationalisation and other factors.

S K Tripathi addressed doubts pertaining to bio-metrics as the ultimate level of security. Throughout the session, security remained the main topic of the discussion which also dwelled on social role of private corporations.

Dr B Sarkar threw light on arsenic toxicity in water in eastern parts of India and in Bangladesh. He said anionic contamination of water and fluoride level in parts of Gujarat is a matter of great concern. In answer to a question he said arsenic contamination of water is not caused by over extraction of ground water and said that filtration of water is not an answer to the problem as when arsenic 2 gets converted to arsenic 3, disposing it will result in contamination since arsenic is a metalloid.

He added that there is no silver bullet solution to the problem. Arsenic poisoning can be detected at an early stage by urine and blood analysis. He noted that it is a serious issue with a deep social impact as those affected are alienated by the society and do not come out of their homes all day. Filtration facilities wherever available are in a poor condition and the government is not providing relief, it was regretted.

Participants from ASEAN countries visited Anand Bhawan, Sangam and other places of interest in the city after lunch and showed keen interest in the MahaKumbh. Academic sessions continued post lunch in which Nobel scientists interacted with participants in different groups.

Security moot point of discussion on fourth day of ongoing science conclave

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