My First Computer

The Bananalets and I are on a technology unit in history. Yesterday's lesson talked about the development of computers, and, as I added asides, they got an idea of How Old I Really Am, since I remember things like the computer room in high school being huge and having the windows covered with foil so the computers did not overheat, and punch cards, and dot matrix printers. (Yes, I still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.) *

Anyhow.

I started getting a fuzzy memory from some time in high school of having a penny that answered all yes/no questions in a logical way. And today its name came to mind: Miniac. After a bit of an online search, I found the rules for Miniac so you can build your own. (I originally read this in Vicious Circles and Infinity: An Anthology of Paradoxes by Patrick Hughes and George Brecht.)

Here ya go:

In this age of computers it seems a pity that sincere but impecunious scholars should be deprived of their benefits. Herewith are presented do-it-yourself plans for constructing a computer that will answer questions not resolvable by any other present machine. Among its advantages, MINIAC is (1) small enough to be carried in one's watch pocket; (2) inexpensive; (3) infallible; (4) easy to build; (5) child's play to operate.

To build MINIAC:

1. Obtain a penny. (Substitution of a ha'penny will not materially affect MINIAC's operation.)
2. Typewrite the words "YES" and "NO" on two pieces of paper and glue one to each side of the penny.

To operate MINIAC:

1. Hold MINIAC on the thumb and forefinger (either hand, either side up) and ask it question A (e.g. `Will it rain tomorrow?').
2. Flip MINIAC and allow it to come to rest.
3. Note the answer, either YES or NO. Now MINIAC has given us either a true answer or a false answer. To determine which:
4. Hold MINIAC as in operating instruction 1, ask question B: `Will your present answer have the same truth-value as your previous answer?' and flip.
5. Note MINIAC's response to this question, either YES or NO.

Suppose MINIAC's answer to question B is YES. This is either a true answer or a false answer. If true, then it is true that the answer to question A has the same truth-value as the answer to question B, hence the answer to question A was a true answer; if false, then it is false that the answer to question A has the same truth-value as the answer to question B (which is false), hence the answer to question A was a true answer. In either case, if MINIAC answers YES to question B, then its answer to question A was a true answer. If MINIAC answers question B with NO, a similar line of reasoning shows that its answer to question A was a false answer.The electronic character of MINIAC is obvious from the fact that there are two free electrons in the outer shell of the copper atom.

I think at the end of the year, I will have the student body build their own and see how far they can get in figuring out Miniac's logic circuits.


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* did anyone else have a clock radio where the numbers were printed on cards that made a loud click when they flipped into position? Amazing.