12/21/03

Man designs advanced computer while in Nazi concentration camp:
You might get discouraged about the value of humanity, pondering the atrocities of Saddam Hussein, but wait - don't give up hope yet. The January '04 Scientific American reports the astounding story of Curt Herzstark, inventor of the mechanical Curta calculator. He conceived and and designed this ingenious device while a prisoner in the Nazi Buchenwald concentration camp.

Herzstark actually drew the plans, including specifications and dimensions, to make himself too interesting for his Nazi guards to kill. "My God," he thought, "If I can make this calculator, I can extend my life. Right there I started to draw..."

Think of a durable hand-held mechanical calculator, using precision gears and cams, the size and shape of a small pepper grinder. It delivered answers to 11 significant digits. Its precision and complexity are mind-bending, its elegance and versatility, beautiful to behold. It could do an enormous range of functions, and was eventually used by astronomers, surveyors, engineers, and accountants. Built to last a lifetime, these calculators are now fetching $800 on eBay and remain popular with vintage ralley drivers.

When the allies bombed the camp, Herzstark escaped into the forest, taking his plans with him. He roamed post-war Europe trying to get industrial backing for his calculator, and eventually succeeded in getting a machine shop to help him make three working prototypes. So perfect were his drawings that the design was unchanged from his prison-camp originals.

Sometimes I hear people lament that because of war, pollution, global warming, or [insert calamity here] that the human race is doomed to extinction. Well, "not likely, bud." Humans evolved in a jungle but came to prominence during an ice age. The human mind is endlessly adaptable and creative; the human spirit proves itself over and over to be more than a match for any kind of adversity.

Take the chance to celebrate human genius, and to marvel at the indomitability of these melon-soft bipeds. Yes, we have some stupid or immoral individuals, but we also have the other kind too. Given even the smallest chance to succeed, a tiny opening, they'll work wonders, and make us wonder why we let our trivial problems hold us back.

Curta Links:

http://www.vcalc.net
http://www.curta.org/wiki/CurtaAlgorithms

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