SoylentNews

Jay W. Forrester Dies at 98; a Pioneer in Computer Models

posted by janrinok on Saturday November 19 2016, @07:18AM   
from the we-are-standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Jay W. Forrester, an electrical engineer whose insights into both computing and organizations more than 60 years ago gave rise to a field of computer modeling that examines the behavior of things as specific as a corporation and as broad as global growth, died on Wednesday at his home in Concord, Mass. He was 98.

The cause was complications of prostate cancer, his son Nathan said.

Professor Forrester, who grew up on a Nebraska cattle ranch, was working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1950s when he developed the field of system dynamics modeling to help corporations understand the long-term impact of management policies.

R.I.P., Jay.

---

Original Submission

• Also of note: Core Memory Also of note: Core Memory (Score: 5, Informative) by martyb on Saturday November 19 2016, @02:06PM

  by martyb (76) on Saturday November 19 2016, @02:06PM (#429397) Journal

  The New York Times article:

  He perfected magnetic-core memory while working on Whirlwind, which was completed in 1951. Magnetic-core memory used tiny ferrite rings strung on wires. Each ring maintained a magnetic field traveling around the ring and holding its polarity until it received a signal from the wires to change direction. Every ring was a bit, magnetized one way for 0 and the other for 1. The earliest magnetic-core memory boards measured several square feet and resembled dense window screens.

  When your OS hiccups and you see a message: "core dumped" -- this is the core they are talking about (Not some Star Trek containment breach.)

  At Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC) in the very early 80's I was given a tour of some of their manufacturing facilities.

  There was one room with a bunch of little old ladies working away in it.

  Each woman (and yes, it was ONLY women) had a large magnifying glass and would manually thread wires through core memory beads and thereby construct memory boards.

  Why just "little old ladies"?

  They just put the word out to some "sewing circles" where women would get together and, for example, do embroidery. They were already accustomed to doing fine needle work and readily adapted to the task of making memory boards. They got paid well, enjoyed chatting with each other, and DEC got a well-made product. Brilliant!

  --
  Wit is intellect, dancing.

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+3
  Interesting=1, Informative=2, Total=3
  Extra 'Informative' Modifier		0
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		5

• Re:Also of note: Core Memory Re:Also of note: Core Memory (Score: 1) by Yog-Yogguth on Sunday November 20 2016, @06:33PM

  by Yog-Yogguth (1862) on Sunday November 20 2016, @06:33PM (#429994) Journal

  Love the comment, didn't know about the old ladies :D

  Also (and off topic): thanks for the message I got ages ago (I did catch it!) and of course you are more than welcome etc.. I was going to reply earlier but it drowned in other stuff as often happens *goes back to trying to catch up with everything happening on SN* :)

  --
  Bite harder Ouroboros, bite! tails.boum.org/ linux USB CD secure desktop IRC *crypt tor (not endorsements (XKeyScore))

  Parent

  • Re:Also of note: Core Memory (Score: 1) by martyb on Sunday November 20 2016, @11:58PM

    by martyb (76) on Sunday November 20 2016, @11:58PM (#430217) Journal

    So glad you found it interesting! (And glad you got the message, too.)

    --
    Wit is intellect, dancing.

    Parent