What is Computation? and Why Turing?

This paper delves into the formation of the Church-Turing thesis, aiming to elucidate historical issues of the nature of computation. As a cornerstone of computer science, the Church-Turing thesis as serts that the Turing machine is the most universal computing device. This paper also explores Turing’s pivotal role played in the process. The Church-Turing thesis is a conviction supported by the fact that var ious computational mechanisms, including the general recursive function, lambda calculus, and the Post systems, have been proven mathematically equivalent. One version of the thesis implies that "intelligence is reducible to Turing machines," further prompting discussions on the nature of artificial intelligence. This thesis has led the theory of computation to become a bridge connecting mathematics, physics, and philosophy