4.0432 Nature of Computers (2/36)
Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Tue, 28 Aug 90 22:08:10 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 4, No. 0432. Tuesday, 28 Aug 1990.
(1) Date: Tue, 28 Aug 90 09:41 EDT (22 lines)
From: John Lavagnino <LAV@brandeis.bitnet>
Subject: Digital/analog
(2) Date: Tue, 28 Aug 90 08:55:59 MDT (14 lines)
From: koontz@alpha.bldr.nist.gov (John E. Koontz)
Subject: Re: 4.0427 Nature of Computers ... (decimal computers)
(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 90 09:41 EDT
From: John Lavagnino <LAV@brandeis.bitnet>
Subject: Digital/analog
It is striking how deeply embedded this notion has become in many minds,
that computers necessarily use binary representation because an
electrical current is either on or off---when the truly fundamental
distinction, as other contributors have said, is between digital
(discrete) and analog (continuous), and the number system you use isn't
really the point.
I suppose this is just because the on/off notion continues to be
retailed in textbooks and manuals. What's interesting is that, in a
different realm, everybody understands the important distinction quite
well. Ask a humanist to explain the difference between analog and
digital sound recording and he or she will usually give an accurate
account, without saying anything at all about binary numbers. Your
guess is as good as mine on why this is so: a more familiar physical
phenomenon to explain, ability to assume that everyone sort of knows
about digital computing already anyway, ...
John Lavagnino, English, Brandeis University
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------24----
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 90 08:55:59 MDT
From: koontz@alpha.bldr.nist.gov (John E. Koontz)
Subject: Re: 4.0427 Nature of Computers (2/32) (decimal computers)
My earliest computing experience was with an IBM 1620 system willed to my
high school by the district administration. It was a decimal machine.
The decimal digits were coded internally with 4-tuples or 5-tuples of
bits, but this was largely invisible, even to the machine language
programmer.
The 1620 is not the only decimal machine to be manufactured, though I
don't happen to recall the model names of any of the others I've run
across since.