On the Recognition of Information With a Digital Computer

TLDR: The recognition powers of a digital computer are best demonstrated in an elementary table lookup operation, where the subject information is required to match exactly with a portion of the master list in order to be "recognized".

Abstract: There exists a vast discrepancy in the power of discrimination exercised by a digital computer and in that of a human being. The recognition of information or data patterns is a simple task for the least experienced human clerk. Most people possess sufficiently sophisticated recognition capabilities so that a variation in the pattern of the data under scrutiny will not cause undue difficulty in the discrimination process. The recognition powers of a digital computer, however, are best demonstrated in an elementary table lookup operation, wherein the subject information is required to match exactly with a portion of the master list in order to be “recognized”. Machine recognition of data which is allowed to vary from the predetermined digital pattern is a vastly more complex problem. Since digital computers are inherently devices which are capable of only YES or NO answers, all MAYBE or PERHAPS responses are obtained only through painstaking effort. If the variations in the subject data are allowed a reasonable range in both position and type, there is no complete solution of the recognition problem available with present techniques and equipments. This paper will outline the general recognition problem in terms of a set of definitions and a mathematical model. I believe that a useful formulation of the problem, and a comprehension of the difficulties involved in discrimination, are prerequisites to any effort at obtaining a complete solution to the problem of data recognition.