ABSTRACT
George Boole's mystical revelation in the field lay dormant in his subconscious throughout the years of young adulthood, but in 1847 an intellectual dispute erupted that crystallized his thoughts. It was an unimportant quarrel, as theoretical arguments go, whose only lasting significance was that it drew Boole into considering the operations of formal logic. Whatever one thought of its metaphysical implications, Boolean algebra was an obviously powerful analytical tool in reproducing the results of human reason, and could in the process of replicating reason significantly reduce the effort required in ratiocination. Boole's assertion that within his algebra lay some of the secrets of the human mind was almost totally forgotten. Ironically, Boole's formal systems are today at the heart of the very machines that claim to possess artificial intelligence, even as a philosophical debate rages over whether these machines can actually think, or merely mimic thought.
