The Evolution of Computer Technology pete in space flight came to the forefront of the world’s attention In the time following the space race up until recent years computers have become immensely smaller but much more efficient Questions for the future concern whether computers and artificial intel ligence will replace humans by learning to outdo us in every task And there are also security con cerns about computers becoming more centered in the lives of users Perhaps the lessons of the past can help us determine how to compute the future 6
Chapter 1 EARLY COMPUTERS The computer came from humble beginnings However its precursors were monumentally im portant These were the first devices created to store and process large amounts of data They aided us with scientific and mathematical calculations though they were accessible only to an elite few IT BEGAN WITH CALCULATORS The very earliest calculator is the humble abacus The abacus is a system of strings and moving beads that allowed humans to perform bigger calculations than we can with ten fingers It originated in Babylo nia modern-day Iraq about 500 BCE Information is stored on an abacus by setting the beads in cer tain formations Storing information allows the user 7
The humble abacus is the first tool that most closely mimics what computers do for us today to perform smaller or subsequent calculations on a different part of the abacus The abacus saw use for centuries It is much less commonly used these days within labs or offices but kindergarten or grade school class rooms might still use it to demonstrate some low er-level math concepts An early form of the slide rule often regarded as the first successful analog calculator was devel 8
Early Computers ANTIKYTHERA ANOMALY One bizarre example of early tools is the Antikythera Mechanism This device was aboard a ship that sank off the coast of Greece around 1000 BCE The vari ous dials and gears on its surface look complicated but historians are unsure of its true purpose Some believe the Greeks used it for astronomical calcu lations The Antikythera Mechanism is an anomaly because we can’t seem to trace a clear line of pre decessors or successors to its technology in ancient history It wasn’t until the 1500s CE that something remotely as sophisticated as this device was created An aged damaged piece of the Antikythera Mechanism from the Archaeological Museum in Athens 9
