For the first decades of computing, the term “algorithm” wasn’t much mentioned. But as computer science departments began sprouting across campuses in the 60s, the term acquired a new cachet. Its vogue was the product of status anxiety. Programmers, especially in the academy, were anxious to show that they weren’t mere technicians. They began to describe their work as algorithmic, in part because it tied them to one of the greatest of all mathematicians – the Persian polymath Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, or as he was known in Latin, Algoritmi. During the 12th century, translations of al-Khwarizmi introduced Arabic numerals to the west; his treatises pioneered algebra and trigonometry. By describing the algorithm as the fundamental element of programming, the computer scientists were attaching themselves to a grand history. It was a savvy piece of name-dropping: See, we’re not arriviste, we’re working with abstractions and theories, just like the mathematicians!
John Pearce on 07 May 12Pinball comes from the BBC and takes you on a 'journey' around different sections of a pinball table, helping you create and refine ideas as you go. It's a different idea for a site, and one you'll either love or hate immediately. However, there is a Help section, you're encouraged to dive straight in and use the freeform tools in whatever way you see fit. The four sections of the site all give you different ways of working through the creative process. Dot Dash allows you to quickly and easily build a Mind Map complete with images and customisable colours while Wild Reels mixes up different combinations of text and images to create new combinations. Most instantly enjoyable is Snap Shot, which allows you to quickly and easily manipulate images by drawing on them, rotating and scaling them and more.
