Lake panorama © Copyright 2007 by Jon Doyle  
.11010001011101000101110100010111010001011101000101110100010111010001011101000101110100010111010001011101000101110100010111010001011101000101110100010111010001011101000...

Contents

Inspiration

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things. (Paul of Tarsus, c. 61)

There is no philosophy that is not founded upon knowledge of the phenomena, but to get any profit from this knowledge it is absolutely necessary to be a mathematician. (Daniel Bernoulli, 1763)

Every good mathematician is at least half a philosopher, and every good philosopher is at least half a mathematician. (Gottlob Frege)

... denn da ist keine Stelle, die dich nicht sieht. Du mußt dein Leben ändern. (R. M. Rilke, 1908)

... we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us (Paul of Tarsus, c. 61)

Una alla volta, per carità! (C. Sterbini)

Soll dir das Gefängnis nicht schädlich sein, mußt du etwas tun, dich zu zerstreun! (C. Haffner and R. Genèe)

Altre cure più gravi di queste, altra brama quaggiù mi guidò! (L. da Ponte)


Jon Doyle

SAS Institute Distinguished Professor of Computer Science
Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Contact information

Office Hours

Teaching

Research

Interests

My main research interests center on the following topics:

  1. The structure and interpretation of rational activity, including understanding the varieties of ideal and limited rationality using mechanical and other concepts; using rationality as a fundamental category for system specification on a par with computational, communicational, and epistemic specifications; development of qualitative decision theory; and rational methods of automation.
  2. Rational representation, reasoning, and discovery methods, especially in automated construction of decision models; resource and effort allocation; reason maintenance; and computational and conscious self-analysis.
  3. Physical computability, including the physical basis of computation, physical limits to computation, computation over continua, quantum computation, and molecular computation.
My main research methods include mathematical formalization and analysis of problems and concepts using the full range of modern mathematical concepts; philosophical analysis of concepts and axioms relative to broader ranges of mathematical, scientific, and humane fields; and developing concrete computational architectures and systems that realize desired specifications and properties.

Activities

Personal information


Panoramic photograph of Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, by Rick Matthews of Wake Forest University
Pilot Mountain panorama courtesy of Rick Matthews