Authentic Science Fiction Monthly, No. 56 — page 63: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AUTHENTIC SCIENCE FICTION machine will perform the necessary operations, accur- ately and tirelessly, within the limits of its instructions. The ways in which the electronic brain performs its work do not invelve ex- clusively modern techniques. As long ago as 1642, the French mathematician, Blaise Pascal, produced a mechanical adding device and the sub- sequent development of cal- culating machines has gradu- ally produced improvements in their scope and efficiency. The rapid advaricement in electronic techniques has, however, permitted improve- ments beyond the wildest hopes of most of the earlier inventors. The history of the development of calculating machines has been so ably treated. elsewhere and at so much greater length than is possible here that it would be an injustice to the subject to attempt to summarise it in a few short sentences. BASIC UNITS Each of the machines of the type which we are considering contains four basic units. There is the input unit, by means of which the machine can be supplied with informa- tion and instructions; this 62 corresponds to the eyes, ears and other sense organs con- nected to the human brain. Then there is a store, often known as the “memory” by analogy with the humaa brain, in which information of all kinds can be retained for as long as required. A third unit, usually known as the arithmetical unit, performs all the necessary mathematical processing of information in- cluding the simple processes of sorting and comparison. Lastly, there is an output unit, which communicates the results of the machine’s work in a form suitable to the users. It will not be im- pertinent to emphasise that all our original requirements - for the brain have now been satisfied. Just as the human brain is supplied with information by various sense organs, so the machine must be_ supplied with information in a form which can be assimilated by it. In the majority of cases this is effected by coding the information, using a system of holes punched in cards or tape and then producing elec- trical pulses by scanning these punched hole systems with a suitable device. A photoelec- tric device has been recently comicloooks.com