Re:Show HN: von Neumann could have invented quantum computin...
by JPLeRouzic on Monday March 03, 2025 @12:14PM
(#43244122)
I like the writing style of this essay!
"During his masters at MIT, he was tasked with studying the “differential analyzer”. The analyzer—a steampunk vision of electromechanical relays and ad
hoc circuitry—was built to solve differential equations (ironically
one of Boole’s main interests as a mathematician) and pioneered by
the brother of Lord Kelvin (one of Boole’s close friends). Shannon’s
fitting tribute to Boole was to deconstruct the messy circuitry of the
analyzer and systematically resynthesize it with Boolean algebra. In
the process, he invented modern digital circuitry"
"During his masters at MIT, he was tasked with studying the “differential analyzer”. The analyzer—a steampunk vision of electromechanical relays and ad hoc circuitry—was built to solve differential equations (ironically one of Boole’s main interests as a mathematician) and pioneered by the brother of Lord Kelvin (one of Boole’s close friends). Shannon’s fitting tribute to Boole was to deconstruct the messy circuitry of the analyzer and systematically resynthesize it with Boolean algebra. In the process, he invented modern digital circuitry"