4 ms·

In case anyone was unaware, textiles were the original domain of punch cards [0]. (And the mechanical loom was an antecedent of and inspiration for the first ge

In case anyone was unaware, textiles were the original domain of punch cards [0]. (And the mechanical loom was an antecedent of and inspiration for the first general-purpose computer; and not coincidentally Babbage's concept, in the 1830's (!!), was to input machine code via punch card [1]. "We may say most aptly that the Analytical Engine weaves algebraic patterns just as the Jacquard-loom weaves flowers and leaves" –Ada Lovelace (What a lovely metaphor!)) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_card#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punched_card#History [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_engine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_engine

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greggsy 3y ago
I’ve only just noticed the coincidental connection between Ada’s surname and the lacemaking machinery that was the target of many Luddites.
- tough 3y ago
  You noticing made me research a bit more and found this article in case you or anyone else might be interested too https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/doing-good-science/ada-lovelace-and-the-luddites/ https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/doing-good-science/ada-...
93po 3y ago
learned new word today, thanks! (antecedent). > The Oxford English dictionary defines the word antecedent as a thing that existed before or precedes another. Precedent, on the other hand, is defined as an earlier event or action which serves as an example or guide.
- perihelions 3y ago
  You're welcome! I actually learned that word from Morrowind; I can't remember if I've seen it in print anywhere else.
perihelions 3y ago
(Sorry if this is too far off-topic or trite, but I had the fun idea that cloth going through a loom is also a type of sequential-access tape storage. If woven from conductive threads, a read-head is nothing more than testing "does this thread form a closed circuit?", and a write-head is the loom operation of "mechanically transpose these two threads". If you can scroll cloth non-destructively forwards and backwards, that's the core of an electromechanical Turing machine). __ __ _____ __╳__ _____ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ [open] [closed]
- fennecfoxy 3y ago
  Well, yeah. It would essentially be punch cards in fabric form, in a way. I'm sure someone's tried it before. If you're not familiar with core memory, then look it up (it's cool). The industry borrowed a lot of women from the textiles industries to thread the tiny wires through the iron rings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic-core_memory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic-core_memory
throwawayc7de59 3y ago
Jacquard looms are also still in use in modern Japan. Here's a video of a multi-story Jacquard loom. You can see the punch cards being fed up to the story above. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB9pRRr_MvY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB9pRRr_MvY You can see the products that they make here: https://nishimura-orimono.jp https://nishimura-orimono.jp
froh 3y ago
also loom fault detection was the first successful business of toyota, before they started automobiles. specifically Toyota invented a mechanism which would stop the loom if a single thread would rip anywhere. and the intuition that halting production if a fault is detected in car manufacturing goes back to that experience. and the offspring of that, the "Toyota production system" inspired lean. which inspired agile. and Kanban also is core of the TPS...

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greggsy 3y ago

I’ve only just noticed the coincidental connection between Ada’s surname and the lacemaking machinery that was the target of many Luddites.

tough 3y ago
You noticing made me research a bit more and found this article in case you or anyone else might be interested too https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/doing-good-science/ada-lovelace-and-the-luddites/ https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/doing-good-science/ada-...

93po 3y ago

learned new word today, thanks! (antecedent). > The Oxford English dictionary defines the word antecedent as a thing that existed before or precedes another. Precedent, on the other hand, is defined as an earlier event or action which serves as an example or guide.

perihelions 3y ago
You're welcome! I actually learned that word from Morrowind; I can't remember if I've seen it in print anywhere else.

perihelions 3y ago

(Sorry if this is too far off-topic or trite, but I had the fun idea that cloth going through a loom is also a type of sequential-access tape storage. If woven from conductive threads, a read-head is nothing more than testing "does this thread form a closed circuit?", and a write-head is the loom operation of "mechanically transpose these two threads". If you can scroll cloth non-destructively forwards and backwards, that's the core of an electromechanical Turing machine). __ __ _____ __╳__ _____ ↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ [open] [closed]

fennecfoxy 3y ago
Well, yeah. It would essentially be punch cards in fabric form, in a way. I'm sure someone's tried it before. If you're not familiar with core memory, then look it up (it's cool). The industry borrowed a lot of women from the textiles industries to thread the tiny wires through the iron rings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic-core_memory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic-core_memory

throwawayc7de59 3y ago

Jacquard looms are also still in use in modern Japan. Here's a video of a multi-story Jacquard loom. You can see the punch cards being fed up to the story above. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB9pRRr_MvY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cB9pRRr_MvY You can see the products that they make here: https://nishimura-orimono.jp https://nishimura-orimono.jp

froh 3y ago

also loom fault detection was the first successful business of toyota, before they started automobiles. specifically Toyota invented a mechanism which would stop the loom if a single thread would rip anywhere. and the intuition that halting production if a fault is detected in car manufacturing goes back to that experience. and the offspring of that, the "Toyota production system" inspired lean. which inspired agile. and Kanban also is core of the TPS...