Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
In ancient times, out of a population of perhaps 1,000 people in a Neolithic vil-
lage, probably more than 950 were illiterate or could only do basic counting of ob-
jects and handle simple dimensional measures. But at least a few people were able
to learn more complex calculations, including those associated with astronomy,
construction of buildings and bridges, navigation, and boat building.
Inventions for Improved Mathematics
From the earliest knowledge of counting and numerical concepts, those who used
numerical information were troubled by the needs for greater speed in calculating
and for greater reliability of results than the unaided human mind could provide.
In order to explain the later importance of computers and software, it is useful to
begin with some of the earliest attempts to improve mathematical performance.
It is also useful to think about what computers and software really do and why
they are valuable. The services that are provided to the human mind by various
calculating devices include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Basic arithmetic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division
• Scientific mathematics, including powers, sines, cosines, and others
• Financial mathematics, including simple and compound interest and rates
of return
• Logical calculations, such as routing and choices between alternatives
• Calculations of time, distance, height, and speed
• Deriving useful inductive knowledge from large collections of disparate
information
• Deductive logic, such as drawing conclusions from rules
In doing research for this chapter, a great many interesting and useful sources
were found during my web searches. For example, IBM has a graphical history
of mathematics that can even be downloaded onto iPhones. Wikipedia and other
web sources have dozens of histories of computer hardware and some histories of
software development, too. More than a dozen computer museums were noted in
a number of countries, such as the London Science Museum, which has a working
version of the Babbage analytical engine on display.
For this topic, it seemed useful to combine six kinds of inventions that are all
synergistic and ultimately related to each other as well as to modern software.
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