Sat May 10 11:35:34 EDT 2008

Another "computing machine"

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I find mechanical devices that "compute" things to be very inter-
esting.  As I learn more about the theory of computation and  how
computers  "work,"  I  can appreciate what these machines do on a
higher level.  In otherwords, it is becoming clear to me how  all
of  those  circuit  elements and 0/1s are not doing anything that
can't be accomplished by mechanical devices.

Now, this latest machine that I've read about is not a  universal
machine.   It has a special purpose.  It also doesn't compute ac-
tual number, but it instead simulates the  basic  workings  of  a
very  complex  system. These sorts of things are done in software
all of the time.  People use such programs to model such  complex
systems  as  (modern)  economies, black hole collisions, weather,
etc.

This machine was used a long time ago to help  people  understand
and develop an intuition for the workings of the British economy.
It is is all mechanical, but is no less sophisticated in  purpose
than computer models that are run on digital computers today.

Without further ado, there's the link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/08/bankofenglandgovernor.economics

Enjoy!


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