How did Charles Sanders Peirce’s work anticipate ideas used in computer science?

Charles Sanders Peirce anticipated key developments in computer science primarily through his pioneering work in logic and his theoretical insights into electrical systems.

While his professional career was rooted in physical science, his contributions to logic were foundational. Specifically, he is recognized as one of the creators of the algebra of logic, which includes the logic of relations and quantification theory. Furthermore, he developed three-valued logic, a system that introduces a truth value beyond the traditional binary of true and false.1

Beyond abstract logic, Peirce’s work directly intersects with the architecture of modern computing. In his personal correspondence, he provided the first known sketch of the design and theory for an electric switching-circuit computer. This conceptual leap demonstrated an early understanding of how electrical circuits could be utilized to perform logical operations, a principle that remains fundamental to the operation of modern digital computers.1