Recursive functions of symbolic expressions and their computation by machine, Part I

A programming system called LISP (for Lisp Processor) has been developed for the IBM 704 computer by the Artificial Intelligence group at M.I.T. The system was designed to facilitate experiments with a proposed system called the Advice Taker, whereby a machine could be instructed to handle declarative as well as imperative sentences and could exhibit, "common sense" in carrying out its instructions. The original proposal for the Advice Taker was made in November l958. The main requirement was a programming system for manipulating expressions representing formalized declarative and imperative sentences so that the Advice Taker system could make deductions.