2000 year old computer re-created

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,419
8
81
Can they really call that a computer?

What is the definition of a "computer"? Anything that computes something?

Is a (mechanical) clock a "computer"? lol
 

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
Originally posted by: Eli
Can they really call that a computer?

What is the definition of a "computer"? Anything that computes something?

Is a (mechanical) clock a "computer"? lol

By that definition, an abacus is a computer.
It's certainly not a "modern" computer. If it could be programmed and perform calculations on its own, that would certainly be amazing.
 

Savij

Diamond Member
Nov 12, 2001
4,233
0
71
Originally posted by: Eli
Can they really call that a computer?

What is the definition of a "computer"? Anything that computes something?

Is a (mechanical) clock a "computer"? lol

Yes. The word was originally coined to describepeople who computed things.
 

Crono

Lifer
Aug 8, 2001
23,720
1,502
136
"The fundamental difference between calculators and computers is that computers can be programmed to perform different tasks while calculators are pre-designed with specific functions built in, for example addition, multiplication, logarithms, etc." - Wikipedia

So this is really just a really old school calculator?
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,378
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Originally posted by: Crono
"The fundamental difference between calculators and computers is that computers can be programmed to perform different tasks while calculators are pre-designed with specific functions built in, for example addition, multiplication, logarithms, etc." - Wikipedia

So this is really just a really old school calculator?

^^ That is a terrible piece of opinion there in wikipedia.

Calculators can be programmed, as all modern calculators use microprocessors and memory for their incredibly basic input/output interfaces. It's just that they are function-built, and cannot be easily modified to perform other functions.

 

JTsyo

Lifer
Nov 18, 2007
11,854
992
126
Saw someone that had made a mechanical calculator in Little Big Planet on Youtube. Can't access it at work.