As I have mentioned more than once on this blog, I served my apprenticeship as a historian of science working for ten years in a major research project into the external history of formal or mathematical logic. During the semester, we held a weekly research seminar in which one or more of the members of the project would present a talk on the current state of their research. These seminars were held early evening and afterwards we would all go for a meal at a local Italian restaurant. I think, I probably learnt more through the discussions during those meals than through any other part of my life as a student.
From time to time those research seminars would be graced by a guest lecture by visiting historians. Over the years I got to hear lectures by many of the world’s leading historians of logic and mathematics. More important was being able to talk informally with these luminaries of the discipline during those post seminar meals.
One of those guest lecturers was Martin Davis, not only one of the best historians of twentieth century meta-logic but also a world class logician in his own right, who died 1 January. He held an excellent lecture on the American logician, Emil Post (1897–1954), who published a paper in 1936 giving an almost identical solution to the Entscheidungsproblem as Turing.
It was the meal after the lecture that we will forever remain in my memory. Martin was travelling through Europe with his wife and the two of them were incredibly friendly and delightful diner companions.
Two things are particularly present in my mind. The first is being in full flow in my inimitable style answering a question that Martin’s wife Virginia had posed about something in logic, when I suddenly realised that I, a mere student, albeit a mature one, was sitting between two of the world’s leading historians of logic, who were listening intently to what I was saying. Feeling somewhat more than flustered, I somehow managed to finish what I was saying. Nobody said anything negative.
The other was an incredible display of generosity from Martin. Amongst his publications, was a book that he edited called The Undecidable, a collection of the original papers on the topic from Post, Turing, Gödel et al. During the course of the meal, I asked Matin if there were plans to republish it as it was out of print, and I couldn’t get hold of a copy. He asked what I was doing after the meal and if I had time to accompany him back to his hotel. I said yes. When we got there, he gave me his personal copy of The Undecidable. I was mind blown.
Many years later I gave it to my professor, Christian Thiel, who has a very impressive collection of logic books. I was sad when I read of Martin’s death yesterday, remembering a very kind and friendly man, who once did a student a very generous favour.