Chapter 14 Thoughts

This post details my thoughts about chapter 14 of the textbook. This chapter covered the early life of Howard Aiken and the events that led to his design of the Harvard Mark 1. One of the first aspects that I found interesting about this chapter was how the problem Babbage was attempting to solve with his Engines was what Aiken was attempting to solve with his computer. This was the problem that mathematical and scientific exploration was limited by the inability to complete the massive calculations manually. This problem leads one to wonder what might have happened if Aiken (and the other computer scientists who were working simultaneously) hadn't ever completed a working computer. What would have been the limit at which point science and technology would have come to a halt? Certainly monumental achievements like space travel would have been impossible without computers (or other computing devices). In addition, everyday devices like cellphones, computer-controlled functions in automobiles, and microwave ovens all would have been impossible without computers to control them and to aid in their design. A second point that I found interesting in the chapter was how Aiken, like Babbage, was keenly aware of the historical significance of his achievement. This is interesting when compared to inventors like Jacquard and Hollerith who seemed to have little interest in the historical nature of their inventions and were more concerned with their practicality and usefulness for their given tasks.