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Figure 7.12. threads growing in a chemical computer. A, connecting wires for elec-
trodes; B, platinum pillar electrodes; C, edges of glass tank containing ferrous
sulfate; D, chemical reaction in progress; E, “tree” threads being formed; F, con-
necting cables. source: Pask 1959, 919, fig. 12.
memory, so it can learn. This was Pask's idea: the chemical computer could
function as an adaptive controller, in the lineage of the homeostat. In this, of
course, it was not so far removed from Musicolour and SAKI, though realized
in a much more flexible and lively medium than that supplied by uniselectors,
relays, and capacitors.
The question now becomes one of how such a system might be interested
in us : how can a chemical computer be induced to substitute for the human
manager of a factory? As with Beer's biological computers, the answer is
simple enough, at least in principle. Imagine there are two different sets of
electrodes dipping into the dish of ferrous sulphate with its thread structure.
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