Scientific American 1950 February
YEAR: 1950
ITEM: Periodical
COMPANY: Scientific American, Inc.
COUNTRY: USA
IN OUR COLLECTION: Yes
This issue of Scientific American contains an article by Claude Shannon entitled, A Chess-Playing Machine. In the article, Dr. Shannon raises the question of whether machines can think.
I couldn't help but notice the article immediately preceding the chess-playing machine. It was entitled, Prefrontal Lobotomy: Analysis and Warning. What were the horror movies of my youth, was, at that time, a common medical practice. In 1950, the medical profession was still using prefrontal lobotomies to cure mental illness!! This article concludes by saying that the medical profession might want to start thinking about modifying the operation or considering other options.
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