4 ms·

The Computational Expressiveness of a Model Train Set: A Paperlet

31 points by feross 6y ago

reaperducer 6y ago
It's a shame that more technically-minded people aren't into model trains anymore. They're a great way to try to figure out logic problems using real world items. It's my recollection that the very very very first computer hackers were members of the MIT model railroading club, because they understood electric circuits.
- monocasa 6y ago
  Yeah, it's such a fundamental piece of computing history. For instance the the MIT railway club is the origin of the computing terms "hack", "foo", "mung", "cruft", and using "orfice" instead of 'office'.
- neolog 6y ago
  > They're a great way to try to figure out logic problems using real world items. What are the advantages over using a computer?
  - chris_st 6y ago
    Observability, for one. In the article, the author talks about the Y-junction that has a flag that directs the train, and the train flips it in some cases, and not in others. Being able to see exactly what happens the moment it happens is just immediately comprehendible... there's no "hidden state"; so if it does something unexpected, you can see the whole situation.
    - neolog 6y ago
      That's cool. Reminds me of https://ivanish.ca/hest-time-travel/ https://ivanish.ca/hest-time-travel/
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- jagged-chisel 6y ago
  Traditionally, they require so much space. My computer can be palm-sized, or lap sized ... even the ones best left under the desk don’t require large percentages of household rooms or a workshop.
- CaliLonghair 6y ago
  Very true and an interesting history as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club As mentioned in the wikipedia article, the Steven Levy "Hackers" book has a great chapter on those early days. See also the Jargon File entry: http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/T/TMRC.html http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/T/TMRC.html
monocasa 6y ago
Reminds me a lot of "Railway Oriented Programming", part of the great F# tutorial, trying to cover concepts like option types. https://fsharpforfunandprofit.com/rop/ https://fsharpforfunandprofit.com/rop/
Imnimo 6y ago
The use of the little plastic flippers to control the junctions reminds me a lot of the Dr. Nim toy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Nim https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Nim It uses similar flippers to operate a marble-driven computer to play Nim.
- DerekL 6y ago
  Yes. In fact, Dr. Nim uses the same mechanism as Digi-Comp II, which is also mentioned in the blog post.

31 points by feross 6y ago

It's a shame that more technically-minded people aren't into model trains anymore. They're a great way to try to figure out logic problems using real world items. It's my recollection that the very very very first computer hackers were members of the MIT model railroading club, because they understood electric circuits.

monocasa 6y ago
Yeah, it's such a fundamental piece of computing history. For instance the the MIT railway club is the origin of the computing terms "hack", "foo", "mung", "cruft", and using "orfice" instead of 'office'.
neolog 6y ago
> They're a great way to try to figure out logic problems using real world items. What are the advantages over using a computer?
- chris_st 6y ago
  Observability, for one. In the article, the author talks about the Y-junction that has a flag that directs the train, and the train flips it in some cases, and not in others. Being able to see exactly what happens the moment it happens is just immediately comprehendible... there's no "hidden state"; so if it does something unexpected, you can see the whole situation.
  - neolog 6y ago
    That's cool. Reminds me of https://ivanish.ca/hest-time-travel/ https://ivanish.ca/hest-time-travel/
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
jagged-chisel 6y ago
Traditionally, they require so much space. My computer can be palm-sized, or lap sized ... even the ones best left under the desk don’t require large percentages of household rooms or a workshop.
CaliLonghair 6y ago
Very true and an interesting history as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tech_Model_Railroad_Club As mentioned in the wikipedia article, the Steven Levy "Hackers" book has a great chapter on those early days. See also the Jargon File entry: http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/T/TMRC.html http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/T/TMRC.html

monocasa 6y ago

Reminds me a lot of "Railway Oriented Programming", part of the great F# tutorial, trying to cover concepts like option types. https://fsharpforfunandprofit.com/rop/ https://fsharpforfunandprofit.com/rop/

Imnimo 6y ago

The use of the little plastic flippers to control the junctions reminds me a lot of the Dr. Nim toy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Nim https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Nim It uses similar flippers to operate a marble-driven computer to play Nim.

DerekL 6y ago
Yes. In fact, Dr. Nim uses the same mechanism as Digi-Comp II, which is also mentioned in the blog post.