[game_preservation] Nimatron: computer or electromechanical?

[Devin Monnens]

Ok, that's all I needed to know - if it was a computer or not. Here is a
synthesis of the findings:

http://deserthat.wordpress.com/2010/05/18/earlyer-computer-games-babbage-and-nimatron/

Hopefully I'm not misreading that this is a computer (albeit one
specifically designed to play Nim, not a general purpose machine).

-Devin

On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 8:12 PM, Martin Goldberg <wgungfu at gmail.com> wrote:


> 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.

> >

> > _______________________________________________

> > game_preservation mailing list

> > game_preservation at igda.org

> > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/game_preservation

> >

> >

> _______________________________________________

> game_preservation mailing list

> game_preservation at igda.org

> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/game_preservation

>




-- 
Devin Monnens
www.deserthat.com

The sleep of Reason produces monsters.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://six.pairlist.net/pipermail/game_preservation/attachments/20100517/bb4d5d38/attachment.htm>