Quotes by Stephen Cole Kleene

About Stephen Cole Kleene:

Stephen Cole Kleene is best known as a founder of the branch of mathematical logic known as recursion theory, which subsequently helped to provide the foundations of theoretical computer science. Kleene's work grounds the study of which functions are computable. A number of mathematical concepts are named after him: Kleene hierarchy, Kleene algebra, the Kleene star (Kleene closure), Kleene's recursion theorem and the Kleene fixpoint theorem. He also invented regular expressions, and made significant contributions to the foundations of mathematical intuitionism.
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When I got to Princeton I made a point of attending the Philosophy Club and listening to the lectures, but I didn't get involved in any discussions in those clubs. I guess after the first year, I dropped that.

Stephen Cole Kleene

Well, I think Barkley and I were the only two who were working with Church for a Ph.D.

Stephen Cole Kleene

The job in Wisconsin was the first genuine offer of an academic job in a university which I received.

Stephen Cole Kleene

I'm sure Church got some of his ideas from this trip to Europe.

Stephen Cole Kleene

I went to Princeton in the fall of 1930 as a half-time instructor.

Stephen Cole Kleene

I went to Princeton from Amherst, where I split my interests between mathematics and philosophy.

Stephen Cole Kleene

I think Veblen had an interest in logic.

Stephen Cole Kleene

I read one or two other books which gave me a background in mathematics other than logic.

Stephen Cole Kleene

I don't think Post often came to Princeton during the '30s. I can't remember ever seeing him in Princeton.

Stephen Cole Kleene

Here at Wisconsin we didn't get an undergraduate course in mathematical logic until the '60s.

Stephen Cole Kleene

For example, the philosophers who were interested in logic were probably rather logical for mathematicians. But the ASL got us together, so we could talk to each other and publish in the same journal.

Stephen Cole Kleene

As I say, there was this movement to try to bring philosophers and mathematicians together into an organization where they would talk to each other. An organization wasn't effective unless you had a journal. That's about all I know.

Stephen Cole Kleene

And what I learned in Church's course. He trained us intensively in his new system, which he was just developing. Two papers were presented. I think the second paper wasn't published until well after the course was finished.

Stephen Cole Kleene

I think that after Church got his Ph.D. he studied in Europe, maybe in the Netherlands, for a year or two.

Stephen Cole Kleene

In the fall term of 1933-34 I was on my family farm in Maine.

Stephen Cole Kleene

I had a liberal arts education at Amherst College where I had two majors, mathematics and philosophy.

Stephen Cole Kleene

I had some hesitations about philosophy because, if you worked out a philosophical theory, it was hard to know whether you were going to be able to prove it or whether other theories had just as good a claim on belief.

Stephen Cole Kleene

Those three years ended with June 1933. At that time I left Princeton, having submitted my Ph.D. thesis.

Stephen Cole Kleene

It wasn't until my second year that I got to actually work with Church.

Stephen Cole Kleene

Author Bio

  • NameStephen Cole Kleene
  • DescriptionAmerican mathematician and theoretical computer scientist
  • AliasesStephen Kleene
  • BornJanuary 5, 1909
  • DiedJanuary 25, 1994
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionMathematician; Computer Scientist; Philosopher
  • AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship