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Comment by amatic | Hacker News Reader

> I started in 1934, [... ] At that time, the computing industry was limited to mechanical calculators using the decimal system.

That seems a bit biased toward discrete systems. Engineers and scientists of the time used mechanical and (later) electric analog computers, and they were more powerful than the new discrete systems, for most purposes. For example: Helmut Hoelzer’s Fully Electronic Analog Computer used in the German V2 (A4) rockets https://www.cdvandt.org/Hoelzer%20V4.pdf (text in German, but has some pictures and diagrams)

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See Abbildung 10 (p16) for an amazingly analog way to calculate f(y(t))

> Some have harsh words for this man of renown / But some think our attitude / Should be one of gratitude —TAL

this is the most astonishing thing I have read in a long time and I am CS not electrical engineering, so I have no idea what these drawings mean. I speak german, but I hope something works to translate this easily, as it is absolutely crazy. I did not know something like this was possible back then.

It is astonishing how advanced the world was back then...if it wasn't for this use though

I would say understanding of the paper depends more on having an electrical engineering degree than a CS degree. The diagrams look to be electrical circuits and signal diagrams (I am not sure what is the correct term but for example 'Abb. 10a' in the article) mostly.

Check out the Analog Museum https://www.analogmuseum.org/

In particular this (German) presentation: https://www.analogmuseum.org/library/hamburg_hoelzer.pdf

Heh. If this guy was around today he would be making epic Factorio builds.

I guess base-10 is still "digital", in that it works with digits.

remember bits are binary digits

I guess a decimal digit would be a dit

digital is simply discrete, as opposed to analog / continuous

  digit
  late Middle English: from Latin digitus ‘finger, toe’; digit (sense 1) arose from the practice of counting on the fingers.

"Digit" is the decimal digit.

A bit biased, as opposed to a smidgen? :P

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