In an analog machine each number is represented by a suitable physical quantity, whose values, measured in some pre-assigned unit, is equal to the number in question.
Tags: science

Other Quotes by "John von Neumann"

We do not know where in the physically viewed nervous system a memory resides; we do not know whether it is a separate organ or a collection of specific parts of other already known organs, etc.
Tags: science
Apart from all other considerations, the main limitation of analog machines relates to precision. Indeed, the precision of electrical analog machines rarely exceeds 1:10^3, and even mechanical ones achieve at best 1:10^4 to 10^5... On the other hand, to go from 1:10^12 to 1:10^13 in a digital machine means merely adding one place to twelve; this means usually no more than a relative increase in equipment (not everywhere!) of 1/12 = 8.3 percent, and an equal loss in speed (not everywhere!) — none of which is serious.
Tags: science, computers
Thus all sorts of sophisticated order-systems become possible, which keep successively modifying themselves and hence also the computational processes that are likewise under their control.
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Any computing machine that is to solve a complex mathematical problem must be 'programmed' for this task. This means that the complex operation of solving that problem must be replaced by a combination of the basic operations of the machine.
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Since I am neither a neurologist nor a psychiatrist, but a mathematician, the work that follows requires some explanation and justification.
Tags: science
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