[game_preservation] Nimatron: computer or electromechanical?

[Martin Goldberg]

A computer, he's pretty clear on that:

"So it was the complete game of representing numbers digitally in a
computing circuit."

It follows also the basics of a computing device -

"yet the circuitry and all that was exactly what was later used for
computers, for programmed computers..."

"it was programmed to..."

"be able to decide on the next move...."

"So it was the complete game of representing numbers digitally in a
computing circuit."

In this case, they simply used the described reeds because they didn't
care about computational/decision speed as mentioned.  Regardless,
electromechanical devices are also considered "computers".  Remember
that fully mechanical machines (not even electro-mechanical) were
originally referred to as computers as well.  I'm thinking you might
mean is it a general purpose computer?  Most likely not, I don't see
anything in regards to it being a general purpose computer that was in
turn programmed to play this game.  Rather it appears to be more of a
state machine digital computing device.


Marty



On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 6:07 PM, Devin Monnens <dmonnens at gmail.com> wrote:

> Another interesting device from the footnotes of history:

> A machine called Nimatron was designed by Edward Condon (et al) in 1939-40

> for the Westinghouse booth at the New York World's Fair. It was played by

> over 50,000 people. It could play a perfect game of Nim (the game had been

> solved by that point) but was purposefully disabled to allow for 16 winning

> strategies. The game was patented with a description "any electrical means

> of representing a number as the sum of integral multiples of powers of

> another number", which Condon states is "representing numbers digitally in a

> computing circuit".

> http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/4997_2.html

>

> Here is the patent with the diagrams (2,215,544, Sept 24, 1940).

>

> My question is was this device a computer or electromechanical?

> -Devin

> --

> Devin Monnens

> www.deserthat.com

>

> The sleep of Reason produces monsters.

>

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