|
|
| History: the abacus – algorithm contest |
| After the invention of the abacus, the next great revolution in calculation was the invention of procedures (algorisms or algorithms) based on the Hindu-Arabic system of numeration, which came to the West from India via the Middle East and Italy. Competition broke out between the abacists and the algorists as to whose methods were to be preferred. |
| In Europe, the algorists won, perhaps because calculations could be checked (an important factor in the world of trade and commerce). The growth of literacy, the invention of printing, and the standardization of written numerals also contributed, allowing calculations and results to be permanently recorded. By the end of the 16th century, calculation using ‘pencil and paper’ algorithms had all but supplanted the abacus, and their dominance was not challenged until the 1980s. |
Pascal’s adding machine
The next advance in mechanical aids to calculation was made by Blaise Pascal, who in 1642, while still a teenager, produced an adding machine capable of handling 6 digit addition (to help his father with tax assessments!). His invention did not catch on because of the high cost of production and the adoption of logarithms. |
|
|
