“Modern computers were first imagined by mathematicians Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace in the mid-19th century, but we’re still learning more about how they did so,” says Samuel Pizelo, visiting assistant professor in media, culture, and communication at NYU Steinhardt. “The fact that games were such powerful modeling tools helps us to understand games as agents of historical change more broadly. This also gives historians and computer theorists a new vocabulary for thinking about what computation is, and what else it can do.” Citing journal entries, publications, drawings, and correspondence by Babbage and Lovelace, Pizelo argues that they used gaming theories to model and develop complex mathematical algorithms, spatial and temporal calculations, and predictive reasoning. These calculations were then used for Babbage’s design of the analytical engine—a steam-powered mechanical computer that inspired the first digital computers a century later. Babbage’s designs were meant to create a machine that was not only capable of storing memory and performing mathematical calculations, but also of playing games against humans by receiving information and calculating various outcomes and strategies to inform its next move.
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