An interesting bit of computer history trivia is that Claude Shannon co-invented the first wearable computer with Ed Thorp to beat roulette in Vegas in 1961. I

An interesting bit of computer history trivia is that Claude Shannon co-invented the first wearable computer with Ed Thorp to beat roulette in Vegas in 1961. It used a button in the shoe as an input device for the user to record the speed and location of the ball which was used to infer the likely ending location using orbital decay algorithms. An auditory signal was then sent by wire to an earpiece to let the user know where to place bets (it wasn't pinpoint accurate - the user would bet on 8 numbers which still gave him a positive expected value). The story around that is really fun, recounted in this paper: https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~evans/thorp.pdf https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~evans/thorp.pdf Versions of the same device from this century use lasers to get a more accurate read on the ball's location, with one group using the system to net £1m from London's Casinos: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4069629.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4069629.stm Thorp was also involved in developing the Blackjack system that was showcased in the film 21 and later ran a hedge fund, details on which were recounted in his interview for this book https://www.amazon.com/Hedge-Fund-Market-Wizards-Winning/dp/1118273044 https://www.amazon.com/Hedge-Fund-Market-Wizards-Winning/dp/.... Very interesting guy.